Mark of Athena
by Athenasisters
Summary: My version of the Mark of Athena. Percy and Annabeth have been successfully reunited, and now they and the rest of the seven are off to Rome! They will meet many monsters and have many near-death experiences along the way. Will they be able to save the world? story will come to an end as of October 1, 2012 in preparation for the real book! La Rated Teen: Just in case
1. I Annabeth

**So I'm bored tonight... So I'll type up a random MoA story! If you like it, review and I might keep posting :) If not, I understand. Feel free to hate, but please spare my feelings! This is on the spot made up material.  
Disclaimer: Me no own PJO or HoO! ~La**

I  
Annabeth

Oh gods, she was nervous. In a few minutes she was going to see the stupid boy that had caused her so much stress over the past few months. She kicked the mast in frustration.

"Hey!" Leo yelled at her from the control panel. "Be nice to the ship, or I'll have to throw you overboard!"

Annabeth had to grin at that. No way could Leo manage to throw her off the ship. "Oh yeah, Valdez? And how are you going to do that?" she called back.

Leo just shook his head and muttered something about 'no respect to the Supreme Commander' or something like that. Annabeth smiled even bigger and turned out to face the fields below her. Her smile faded. The Roman camp was huge! About three times the size of Camp Half Blood, and that wasn't even including the Roman's town.

They had a _town_!

Under normal circumstances, the architecture would have amazed Annabeth. Today though, she could only focus on finding _him_. Below her, a small army of Roman soldiers was forming. She could hear horns sounding in the distance, signaling the sighting of the massive ship. Annabeth heard Jason telling Leo where to land.

"Right in that big field, it's called the Field of Mars, and it'd be our safest chance."

_That's right,_ Annabeth thought to herself,_ we only have a chance of becoming allies with the Romans. If not, the world ends._

Pleasant thought, that was.

Suddenly a movement caught in her peripheral vision. She turned her head to get a better look. Over near the town, a bunch of teenage kids were exiting a massive white building. Annabeth could see signs of the Roman's fight with the giant army in it's roof. The strangest thing of all though, was the fact that all the kids were wearing... _Were those togas?_

They were also being led by two people that seemed to stand out more than the rest. A boy and girl in purple clothing. A tall girl with long brown hair, who was talking to a very familiar-looking boy with jet-black hair. A boy who looked just like-

"Percy!" Annabeth gasped, stumbling back from the rail as the ship lurched downwards. She couldn't believe it. He was actually _there_, in flesh and blood. Perfectly safe, even after all those months. _And he hadn't even contacted her!_

Oh he was _so _dead when she got to him!

Just then, a huge, rumbling, and bumpy landing interrupted her thoughts, sending her stumbling back once again.

"_Leo!_" Piper yelled. "Can't you control this thing?"

Leo glared at her, "Of course I can, Beauty Queen. It's just not too easy to land a ginormous trireme coming down from the sky!"

Jason laughed at their stupidity, then hushed as he saw the two-hundred or so Romans that were staring at their ship.

"Jason?" the girl who had been walking with Percy earlier called uncertaintly.

A grin split across the son of Jupiter's face. He ran forward and leaped off the ship, using his wind powers to help him float down gently.

Annabeth couldn't help but feel jealous. He got to go have his happy reunion, while she had to wait for Leo to lower the gang-plank.

Sure enough, moments after Jason leaped off the ship, cheers could be heard from the Romans below. Many of them called out greetings to their former-praetor, but Annabeth heard one shriek of digust.

"Filthy graecus scum! And _he_ led them here!"

It was almost completely drowned out by the positive remarks though.

_Finally_ Leo got it so that they too could exit the ship. She ran down the ramp, and came face-to-face with none other than Percy Jackson himself.

"Seaweed Brain!" she gasped in shock.

He stared at her. "Hello. Do I know you?"

**Mwahaha! Cliffhanger! Did you like it? I know that it was kind of random and thrown together, and there's probably typos, but I typed in in half an hour so what do you expect? Maybe I'll go back an edit it one day.. Maybe not. Either way, I love reviews! Tell me if I should continue! Let me know what you'd want to come later on in the story! Just tell me stuff about your life! Please, as a birthday present to me? :3 Love ya's! ~La**


	2. II Annabeth

**Haha hi! I'm back after about 12 hours... :P I wanted to post more. Chapter 2 is about to begin! xD First though, replies and disclaimer:  
To Ace: You do. You do know what's going to happen because it's exactly what we WANT to happen in the real MoA, but shh! No spoilers!  
Disclaimer:  
Hermes: Don't forget daughter!  
Me: :O Must I dad? Really? I mean...  
Hermes: NOW CHILD!  
Me: *grumbles* fine. I don't own PJO or HoO or any of the characters. Rick Riordan does... Ish. He kind of sold the rights to Disney though...  
Hermes: Very good. Now give George a rat.  
George: RATS!  
Martha: *rolls snakey eyes*  
Me: *gives George rat and pat on head* here you go George!  
AND NOW FOR THE STORY!**

_Previously:"Seaweed Brain!" she gasped in shock. He stared at her. "Hello. Do I know you?"_

II  
Annabeth

_No! _Annabeth thought. _No, he has to remember! Jason does, why doesnt Percy? _She took a step back from him in utter pain and shock. "You... You really don't remember me?" she asked him.

"Should I?" he asked back. She studied his face, trying to find any hint of a prank. None was there, just the usual light in his eyes and easy-going smile on his lips.

Annabeth didn't want to ruin anything, so she just said, "No... No I guess not." And then turned away dejectedly. She made her way over to where Piper and Leo were now standing, near Jason, but still a bit off to one side. However, she only took a few strides before a strong hand gripped her shoulder and spun her back around.

Once again, she was facing Percy, but this time he was laughing at her.

"Of course I remember you Wise Girl! How could I forget?" he grinned. Then he pulled her in for a kiss.

It only lasted a split second before Annabeth pulled away, and punched him hard in the gut. "How dare you!" she scream at him, "You go missing for _months_, then pretend to not even _remember_ me? And then you try to _kiss_ me?"

Percy raised his hands in the air defensively. "Woah there, Annabeth! I'm sorry okay? It was wrong."

She glared at him a moment more, then rushed into his arms. "Gods, Percy! I missed you so much!"

After that she pretty much broke down. All the worry, fear, and desperation of the last eight months drained out of her as she started to cry into his shoulder. She knew that she should be setting an example, and acting strong, but it was such a relief to finally have him back.

As she cried, Percy hugged her and stroked her hair. After about two minutes of this, she finally managed to calm down enough to staunch the flow of tears. Then, she lifted up her head and kissed him full on the mouth. All around them the Romans went silent, then the cat-calling began.

"Hey! Get a room!" somebody yelled to them.

Some people wolf-whistled.

"Go Percy!" a few of the guys called.

_"AAAAWWW!" _a few of the girls said.

Percy stopped the kiss for a moment, "As much as I'm enjoying this," he whispered, "there's about 204 people watching us, and I'm their leader. Shouldn't I be setting an example?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes at him. "Since when have you ever cared about setting an example? But I suppose you're right..."

They broke apart, and the other praetor cleared her throat.

"Erm.. Well then. Now that the reunions are taken care of, we should get introductions out of the way. My name is Reyna, Daughter of Bellona, Praetor of the Twelft Legion."

Percy stepped forward, "Percy Jackson, Son of Poseidon, Former Praetor, and leader of Camp Half Blood."

Reyna gave him a questioning look, "Former?"

Percy nodded, then looked at Jason, "Yeah, you can have your position back."

Jason grinned, "Thanks, you sure?"

"Yep."

"Okay, well in that case, I'm Jason Grace, Son of Jupiter, Praetor of the Twelfth Legion."

Leo spoke next, "Leo Valdez, Supreme Commander of the Argo II, and amazing Son of Hephaestus."

Piper rolled her eyes, "Piper McClean, Daughter of Aphrodite."

Then a short girl with curly brown hair, and a large muscular boy with a babyish face stepped up from behind Percy.

"Hazel Levesque, Daughter of Pluto." the girl said.

"Frank Zhang, Son of Mars, Centurion of the Fifth Cohort." stated the boy.

Percy pulled them forward, "For those of you who don't know, these two went on a quest with me last week, and they're definitely part of the Seven."

Finally, only Annabeth was left. "Annabeth Chase, Daughter of Athena, Architect of Olympus, and co-leader of Camp Half Blood."

Reyna walked forward to shake her hand. Then she asked, "It is only you three Greeks and Jason? You're ship is huge, why did you not bring others?"

"We felt it unnecessary, and it would leave Camp Halfblood without fighters. They'd need every demigod they have if monsters were to invade. However, we did bring along our best healer. He's staying aboard the ship for now, though. To prepare the infirmary."

Reyna nodded understandingly, "Good strategy. I assume that the other two Greeks you've brought with are of the Seven in the prophecy?"

"Yes."

"And yourself?"

"It's always a possibility. I just came for Percy."

"I see." Then Reyna turned towards the Romans. "Back to your activities!"

Slowly, the crowd dispersed, leaving the six out of the seven prophesized demigods, with Reyna and Annabeth.

"Tell me, Daughter of Athena, whom do you suspect is the seventh?" Reyna asked.

**No cliffhanger this time :) haha please pretty please review! It'd mean the world to me, not to mention it being a great birthday present! Sorry if it's not exciting, or if it's too random. I try, but I just post whatever I type first. This story is what I work on when I'm bored. More action next chapter (probably, who knows... I don't know what I'll write yet! :P)!  
~La**


	3. III Jason

**Ace! You are going to drive me insane girlie! ANOTHER chapter? Seriously? After like 10 hours? Gods you're pushy! Well anyways, to the rest of you readers: Hope you're enjoying so far! And I hope that this chapter is good :) I don't like Jason's POV, but it's got to happen. Just to let you all know, I might be posting really often at first, but it's gonna slow down eventually! Don't hate me when that happens, I get serious writer's-block. Okay, I'm blabbering... STORY TIME!**

**Disclaimer:  
Ace: Wow you're disclaimers are weird! You freak!  
Me: -.- Well it happened!  
Ace: STOP BEING NERDY!  
Me: Isn't that why we have this account?  
Ace: ...  
Me: Dear demigods, mortals, monsters, and creatures, live together in peace and harmony! I don't own PJO, HoO, or any of the characters in this story! (Except for the made up ones to come later... but you'll have to wait for em! :P)  
Ace: Stop with the emoticons. They're lame.  
Me: Shut up. Let me start the story!**

III  
Jason

It was such a relief to be back home. Yet, he was going to miss Camp Half Blood. Really, the Greeks had a great way to live. More carefree and independant than the Roman's, and also more fun. Plus, he was going to miss Piper and Leo; especially Piper.

But he wouldn't think about goodbye's now. For now, he'd just focus on getting out of this war alive, and with all his friends in the same condition. He had a bad feeling that it wouldn't work like that though. **(A/N I hate when there's a comma before a 'though'. It doesn't make sense, and looks weird!) **No way would Gaia allow all seven demigods to live through the war against her, and their friends would almost certaintly share the same fate.

"Jason, are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Reyna asked him.

_Oh yeah! _Jason thought, _I'm in a Senate meeting! No time to be straying off-thought. _**(A/N I skipped a bit... Oh well :P It wasn't anything exciting, and whatever you need to know will come back through memories)**

He cleared his throat nervously. "Sorry Rey, could you repeat that?"

Reyna scowled. "I _said_ that we should now determine how much supplies and support this quest should recieve. After all, New Rome must stay protected as well."

"I think that Annabeth would be best suited to answer that question, Reyna. She's a strategist, and probably could give you the perfect ammounts for everything."

His co-praetor nodded. "Annabeth?"

She stood up. "I think the best option would be to give the Argo II a month's rations for ten people. I know we only have eight right now, but we might gain more in the future, and it's always good to not sell yourself short anyways. As far as support goes, we will only need the pre-determined eight of us, and our weapons. However, a small bit of money would be helpful, in case we run into bumps in the road. Also, Camp Half Blood has already supplied an equivallent of what I just listed - just so you know."

Then, Annabeth sat back down, and Percy stood. Once, Jason had questioned Annabeth on what Percy was like. She'd described him as a total goof-ball, but said that he was also very loyal and caring, and that he was an amazing person to have around in life or death situations, especially since he was a fantastic swordsman.

Right now, Jason did not see that person. Instead, Percy looked intimidating and powerful, maybe even a bit _regal_, and the guy radiated leadership. Even though Jason had reclaimed his position as praetor, Percy held some power i the Senate.

"She's right," Percy stated. "That plan wouldn't be too hard on Rome, and between this camp and Camp Half Blood, it would give us two months worth of food, and enough money to get any other necessary supplies along the way."

"All in favor?" Jason asked, raising his own hand. Everyone except Octavion and a few of his nasty friends raised their right hand. "Right then, motion approved. Anything else we need to cover?"

"When will the demigods be leaving?" asked Reyna.

"The day after tomorrow, early in the morning." Percy called up to them.

"Well, then I think this meeting is adjourned."

All the senators left quickly, leaving Jason, Reyna, Percy, Annabeth, Hazel, Frank, Piper, and Leo, lagging behind.

"Well, we should probably start collecting supplies for the ship... Percy, Frank, want to help me?" Jason felt bad asking Percy to leave his girlfriend. After all, they'd only been reunited a few hours ago, and they hadn't left eachother's side since. However, Jason wanted to get to know the two people that were completely new to him.

"Sure thing." Percy said. Frank nodded his head in agreement. Then, Percy gave Annabeth a peck on the cheek, and followed Jason out of the room.

They walked in silence for a bit, until Jason found the courage to speak up. "So," he began, "did you two have to face a lot of monsters on your quest?"

"Well duh." Percy grinned.

Frank rolled his eyes. "Not too many... Only about ten or so different types. Not that bad."

Jason smiled at that, "Sounds like quite an adventure. You should tell me about it sometime!"

"Maybe. But first, we gotta load up that ship!" said Percy.

"True... Race you to the forts?"

"Oh, you're on!" Percy challenged, then took off running, followed by the two Romans.

After a few minutes of sprinting, Jason reached the forrts first, with Percy and then Frank finishing a split-second later.

"So how much rations per crate?" questioned Frank, while panting from the long run.

"A week." Jason replied, catching his breath. "And we'll count a month as being five weeks, so we'll need to make a few trips. Two people lift one crate each, and the third person supervises, maybe?"

Percy nodded and went over to one of the boxes. He hefted it up on his shoulders easily, then left the fort. Jason and Frank followed his example, and did the same.

**Okay Ace. Feel free to hate me all you want for the short chapter, but I don't like Jason POVs much... Sorry to those Jason fans! Anyways, likey? Dislikey? Let me know! And I still love suggestions :) Eventually, some action will happen! Probably not next chapter... Or the one after... but DEFINITELY in chapter VI! xD I have no plans for chapts IV and V... :D Well have a good night/day readers! ~La**


	4. IV Jason

**Haha I don't even know why I'm still posting this! I've only gotten 2 reviews outside of Ace's... :3 Oh well, I promised Ace to keep posting, so I will. I'm nice like that. But updates are gonna slow down because I have summer school for Algebra... Anyways, enjoy the chapter! Only one left until Percy! YAY! ~La  
Disclaimer:  
Frank: You always leave me out.. Why?  
Me: Because it's hard to think about you without thinking of myself and whatnot..  
Frank: Egotistical much?  
Me: Shush Frank(fort) OH CRAP ACE IS RUBBING OFF ON ME! :O  
Frank: ...  
Me: I don't own PJO or HoO Frank... I can do whatever I want with you and not get sued.. (wow that came out wrong...)  
Frank: *0.0*  
Me: *Runs away in embarrassment***

IV  
Jason

Jason was unloading his first crate onto the Argo II. Next to him, Frank and Percy were doing the same. Actually, Percy was almost done with his first crate. Jason had no idea how the guy could move so fast! A moment after this thought crossed his mind, Percy took out the last thing - a jar of peanut butter - and placed it on the shelf. Then he spun around and exited the room.

"Wow he's fast." Jason muttered.

Frank chuckled softly, "You should see him when he's controlling his own personal hurricane!"

"WHAT?"

"Yeah, he can make _hurricanes_. It's kinda freaky..."

"So he's always that fast?"

"Naw. Actually, in the morning you can barely get him to move most of the time."

Jason smiled and went back to unpacking his crate, with Frank's help.

_Peanut butter, bread, powdered milk, cheetos, peanut butter, bread, bread, bread, peanut butter..._

Well at least Tyson would have enough peanut butter sandwiches to last until they got him back to Camp Half Blood.

_Noodles, spaghetti sauce, soup, soup, peanut butter, bread, jelly, granola bars, fruit roll-ups, dried fruit, canned corn, canned peas, canned oranges, bread, canned green beans..._

Green beans? Well, okay then. Jason supposed that they could come in handy.

_Peanut butter, Cheerios, Rice Krispies..._

Finally they reached the bottom of the crate, put the last item in the enormous pantry, and went to go get a new crate.

Halfway back to the fort, they caught up with Percy, who had a new crate with him, and was heading back to the ship.

"You know it's not a race, right?" Jason asked him.

"Yeah," Percy said, "but I kind of don't want to do this all day..."

"Fair enough."

And they moved on.

Eventually they got back to the forts, and Reyna was there waiting for them.

"Hey Rey, what d'you need?" Jason called from about ten feet away.

She waited until they got there to speak.

"Jason, do you really trust these Greeks?"

"Yes, I do. With my life, and you should too. Percy saved the camp after all, didn't he?"

Frank shifted uncomfortably next to him.

"Well... yes." Reyna hesitated,"That girl Annabeth, however. What about her?"

"She's my friend Reyna. And an amazing fighter, architect, and strategist. I trust her as much as I trust you."

"She just seems a bit unstable, is all."

"Well what do you expect? She's been out of her mind with worry for _eight months_ while Percy was here and she was unable to contact him."

"Percy only got here last week."

"He- What? But he was gone eight months!"

"Some of that time might have been spent with Lupa..."

"No." Frank interrupted. "Hera had him asleep for five months, he was only with Lupa for two months, and three weeks was spent making his way here."

"That's beside the point." Reyna insisted. "The Greeks ask for much from us, I need to make sure they deserve our trust."

"Well they do." Jason confirmed.

Reyna nodded stiffly. "In that case, I'll be going. Good luck with the rest of the supplies."

She spun on her heel and stalked away, back towards the principia.

"C'mon Frank, Percy's probably halfway back already. We should get moving."

"You're right."

And they headed inside, only to discover that there were no crates left. Instead Octavion stood in their place.

"Hello praetor Grace. What might I do for you?"

"Where's the supplies?" Jason growled.

"Now, now. No need to be rash. The supplies were deemed unnecessary for this quest. The aurae took them back to the kitchen about fifteen minutes ago, and I was told to pass along the message."

"Tell the truth Octavion."

"Or what Grace? Just face it. You and your little _graecus_ friends aren't worthy of the support of Rome."

Jason lunged forward, yanked the augur by the arm, twisted, and pinned him with his face against the wall. Then, he pulled out his _gladius_ and pressed the tip against Octavion's neck.

"Now tell me the _truth_. Or else I'll spear you through the neck."

Octavion sneered at him. "The truth, is that your pathetic little friends don't deserve our supplies. No matter what that good-for-nothing Daughter of Bellona thinks."

Jason spun the sword around and knocked Octavion over the head, causing him to pass out cold.

"Come on Frank. Let's go get more supplies."

And he stalked out of the room.

**Was it good? Let me know! I love reviews! Haha Ace, you need to give me a break girlie... PERCY NEXT! YAY YAY YAY! Now, give me ideas munchkins! I need em! Ooh and if you're looking for a good book, I'm reading Insurgent by Veronica Roth right now... A secong book in a trilogy, and AMAZING! xD Okay... Sorry it's short, they always are... :/ And it was a filler chapter, lots more action next time. I promise. Have a nice day/night peeps!  
~La**


	5. V Percy

**I'm gonna try to make my chapters longer because even though I update so often it bugs me to have or read short chapters. :) Well message to Ace: please try to get along with Rainbow? I know it might be hard, but you guys made me cry today with your fighting. Just thought you should know. ANYWAYS, we're finally at Percy! xD ACTION CHAPTERS! Enjoy! :D  
Disclaimer: Lame one today cause I'm running out of time... ME NO OWN PJO OR HOO! UNDERSTAND? GOOD! xD ~La**

V  
Percy

When Annabeth stepped off that ship... Wow Percy could not believe he had gone eight months without her and without being driven insane. He barely restrained himself from running to embrace her. He had to stick with the plan.

The plan was, see if she had moved on. Make sure that she still remembered him and/or wanted to be with him. Because if he did something emotional and she had moved on, it might mess everything up.

So when she called him by his nickname and he had to lie to her face, well that cetaintly had _not_ felt good. When he pretended to not know or even _recognise_ her when all he wanted to do was kiss her, that had been torture. When her eyes welled up with tears of fear and disappointment and utter hurt, it was like being killed in the slowest, most painful way possible. Then she turned away, and he knew that she hadn't moved on. Hadn't forgotten him. He grabbed her arm and spun her back towards him. Told her the truth; kissed her.

And she _punched _him.

_Ow! _he thought,_ gods she has a good arm! _

As she scream at him he couldn't help but focus on how beautiful she was when she was angry, and yet again he had to restrain himself. She called what he did a cruel joke; he apologized; she cried into his shoulder. After a few moments he couldn't let her stay like that, the Romans would see and her weakness would not settle well with them. She lifted her chin up, as though reading his mind.

They kissed again, only this time it meant more. For starters, it was much longer; it was to make up for a small portion of their absent eight months; it was to show they cared. And Percy found it to be the second-best kiss of all time.

Right next to the underwater one.

Finally he broke it off, after a few minutes of really amusing cat-calls and wolf-whistles.

"As much as I'm enjoying this," he whispered, "there's about 204 people watching us, and I'm their leader. Shouldn't I be setting an example?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes, which he found incredibly cute at that moment. "Since when have you ever cared about setting an example? But I suppose you're right..."

So they broke apart, and the introductions happened. When it was Percy's turn he battled over whether or not to say he defeated Kronos. But that would only hurt Annabeth, and plus Jason hadn't named any of his many victories, so why should Percy?

Then Percy was intrigued when Jason and Annabeth's companions introduced themselves. Especially with the guy who looked like Hazel's old boyfriend, Sammy. But their names were Leo and Piper. The two seemed pretty decent to him, Leo had a nice sense of humor, and Piper had an aura of charm and authority. All good qualities, especially when you were going to be saving the Earth from Mother Earth.

Hazel and Frank stepped up from behind Percy, and introduced themselves simply. Then it was Annabeth's turn. Percy was slightly surprised to discover that Will was there as well. Only slightly.

After Annabeth, Reyna dismissed the legionaires back to their training, and began interrogating her. Asking about the seventh demigod and all that. It wasn't exactly an easy topic to discuss, being as there were about five hundred claimed and unclaimed demigdos out there, as a rough estimate. It could be anyone.

Annabeth herself was just the most likely candidate, and an easy target for Reyna. The daughter of wisdom did not give her opinion (for once in her life) and simply stated that se didn't know. Which was something that his girlfriend _rarely_ said.

Eventually Reyna ran out of questions, and the eight of them headed to evening muster. Afterwards, was the senate meeting.

In the senate Percy felt almost _required_ to speak. He hated it, but he was still a Roman leader, even if he had returned the title to Jason.

Percy hated power and responsibility, but sometimes it did come in handy. Like when you stick up for your girlfriend, and manage to get decent supplies for the completely life-threatening quest that was in-store for you.

That always brightened a person's day, you know what I mean?

Finally the meeting was over and Percy got to look forward to showing Annabeth around New Rome.

However, Jason had other plans. The guy asked Percy and Frank to help him with crates that were needed for their trip _two days_ from then. Couldn't it wait until tomorrow? Even though he didn't want to, Percy agreed to save time arguing. Trying to make a good situation better, he sped off towards the forts with his cousin and Frank.

**So was it good? I know I promised action, and there isn't much yet, but this was Percy's shortened POV of everything leading up to the action! Enjoy him while it lasts, cause after next chapter you'll have to wait four more! :P I swear on the River Styx that next chapter will have more action. *Hears thunder (literally) in the distance.* In the meantime go read the other story that Ace and I are writing! It's called Mark of Athena Side story, and it happens sometime during this one! So when you get a bunch of repeated chapters.. that's why. :P Enjoy your day/night! Don't forget reviews! xD ~La**


	6. VI Percy

**Oh my freaking gods I love you all so much! To all the reviwers and subscribers and likers, THANK YOU SO MUCH YOU MADE MY MORNING! (It was morning when I read them) Well you probably want the story now... Replies to anons at the end. ENJOY! (I'll try to make it long, but that never really works out for me)  
Disclaimer:  
Me: REVIEWS! YAY!  
My friend: Haha really?  
Me: Well yeah... That's why I write this stuff!  
Her: I like my NCIS fanfictions better... I tried to read yours but got lost on the second paragraph.  
Me: You need to read HoO  
Her: Yeah...  
Me: I love making disclaimers! Me no own PJO or HoO so no suing peoples! xD  
STORY TIME NOW!**

VI  
Percy

Even _Percy_ couldn't believe how fast he was moving. The nymphs back at Camp would have been proud. Percy was unloading his first crate with ninja skills, and finished before Jason and Frank were even half done. And that was with them working together on one crate.

After he placed one last jar of peanut butter on the shelf, he sped off back to the forts. Once there, he plucked up a new crate and started back to the ship.

On his way back, Percy passed Jason and Frank who were heading to the forts for their second crate.

"You know it's not a race, right?" Jason asked him.

Percy grinned, "Yeah, but I kind of don't want to do this all day..."

"Fair enough."

The other boys passed him, and continued to the forts.

Still grinning, Percy kept moving back to the ship. About twenty feet away, he decided to speed up even more, and broke into a run. He just couldn't wait to spend some alone time with Annabeth! Maybe he could take her to that little coffe shop in the town...

Something slammed into him, and interrupted his thoughts.

_"OW!"_ he exclaimed involuntarily. Then he heard the snarling and saw the jet-black fur. "Mrs. O'Leary?"

The hellhound snarled again and lunged at him. Percy barely rolled out of the way before the ginormous jaws snapped down where he had just been sprawled on the ground.

"Okay... Definitely _not_ Mrs. O'Leary." Percy muttered wryly. Then he pulled Riptide out of his pocket, and uncapped it.

A full yard of deadly, razor-sharp, monster-killing, celestial bronze sprouted out onto his hand, and Percy was officially ready for a fight.

The monster lunged again, all offense and no defense. Percy noted this weakness, and tried to make the best of it. He aimed for the beast's stomach, which seemed to be the most unprotected part.

However, the plan didn't really work out. After all, when did they ever? The monster swatted Percy aside and moments later it was standing over him.

"Percy!" he heard a worried shout from a little way off. He couldn't turn to look, but he knew who the voice belonged to. _Annabeth._ He couldn't die now, not when he had just found her again. He brought up his sword and slashed off the monster's head, right at the neck.

Then he stood up, and realised just how surrounded he was, and why Annabeth had called out. All around them, stymphallion birds were attacking.

Percy hadn't seen them in years! Not since the very first chariot race he had ever been in at Camp Half Blood. But now, they were everywhere around him, and he could hardly kill them fast enough. Even as he slashed and hacked his way through hundreds upon hundreds of the birds, more just kept coming! He hoped that his wonderfully smart girlfriend would remember to use music to defeat them, and maybe give him a hand, but for now he was on his own.

The crowd never slowed down or thinned, and Percy found himself wondering where they were coming from! After all, monsters shouldn't have even been getting into the city at _all_, now that the eagle was back.

Ignoring his fatigue, Percy kept fighting. He now regretted rushing to get the work done. If he hadn't, he would have had more energy for this fight.

After what seemed like eternity, Percy stumbled on something and fell to the ground. The birds were on him in an instant, surrounding him and eating away at his flesh. He tried his best to kill as many of them as possible, but there were too many and now he wasn't even in a good position to fight.

Slowly, he struggled against them to change positions. First sitting, then kneeling, and finally standing. At least now he could fight better. He fell back into his pattern. _Slash, jab, jab, slash, swipe, slash, repeat._ It worked, and helped to keep most of the birds off of him.

Then one bird got a luck hit, right in the gut. Percy felt it puncture deep into his skin, and he collapsed in pain.

Curled into the fetal position on the ground, he stopped fighting, and the birds' attacks increased.

"_PERCY!_" he heard Annabeth shriek. He'd almost forgotten that she was there. How long had he been fighting anyways?

He was too tired to figure it out. All he wanted to do was sleep. Giving in to his wishes, his eyelids drooped and he blanked out into the darkness.

**DUN DUN DUN! That ends the Percy POVs for a little while... Anyone you want to see later in the story? Let me know in reviews! I'm gonna need ideas soon... :3 Well Annabeth tomorrow, can't wait! xD Kay, anon reviews...  
Emily (chapter 4): Thanks! Glad you liked it :) Keep reading! xD  
Guest: Haha thanks, hope you keep reading it!  
Guest: No Jeyna, absolutely not. Unless it's to have them break up... I support Jasper, this is a Jasper story! :P I will promise you more Percabeth though! Just wait a little bit, it'll get better.**

**Thanks again to the other reviewers.. Hope this is a longer chapter, but I won't know until I post! ~La  
**


	7. VII Annabeth

**Whah haha! I debated over whether or not I should post today... I kind of wanted to leave you all hanging ... But no, I'm not that mean. Here's another chapter! Annabeth's POV, no more Percy for a while... Are there any requests for POVs, or suggestions for the story? No Jeyna or Thalico requests though, because I strongly disapprove of them. Strongly. Well enjoy the story in which I'm making Percy get hurt right now!  
Disclaimer:  
Mom: You never study for math! All you do is sit on fanfiction!  
Me: Because it's awesome!  
Mom: ARRRGGGHHH  
Me: *thinks about how piratey she is, kind of like Blackbeard in the PJO boks that I don't own... Or like Leo could be now that he has a ship, in the HoO books that I don't own.. :)*  
~La**

VII  
Annabeth

Well it had _looked _like Percy could handle it. He had his Achilles curse after all, why wouldn't he be able to stand up to the hellhound or the Stympallion Birds?

What she hadn't counted on was the sheer number of the birds. Also, she had forgotten just how _fast_ they could strike. She watched Percy being harrassed by them, and felt pangs of worry. However, she knew if she got herself hurt, he'd kill her for it.

Suddenly, she remembered how to defeat them... _Music!_

She turned and ran back towards the forts, knowing that most guards would have some sort of IPod, or CD player with some bad rap music or something on it.

And that's why she missed the first sign that would have shown her Percy didn't have his curse to protect him.

As she ran, she tried to fill her head with reassurance. _He has the curse, he'll be fine! He's an amazing swordsman, he'll be fine! He was holding his own, he'll be fine! He has the curse..._

And then, after five minutes of this, she reached the forts. What met her there was absolute chaos.

Guards were running rampage everywhere, with Jason chasing them, and Frank chasing Jason. Over in the doorway to one of the towers, was Octavion. He was slumped on the ground in a heap, with blood trickling down his neck; knocked out cold.

Even though Annabeth felt a pang of pity and sympathy for the Roman, she was glad he was hurt, especially after the trouble he had caused them.

Looking away from the slumped form of the augur, Annabeth returned her attention to the fighting guards and Jason. She had no idea what had happened here! Frank was holding Jason back in a bear hug, and the guards were taunting them.

"What's the matter Zhang? Afraid we'll whoop his butt?" one sneered.

"Yeah Grace! What, you can't even break away from the klutz over there? He's nothing but an over-large baby!"

Annabeth figured that if Jason wasn't a praetor, they'd be saying much worse to him. Also, that however calm Frank appeared, he was a Roman, and therefore would not be taking the insults well.

"EVERYBODY STOP NOW!" she scream at them all.

All eyes turned towards her. "Oh, what? The prissy little Greek thinks she can have authority over us now, does she?" one of the guards taunted

"Don't you dare insult her Traisec." Jason growled.

"Actually," Annabeth spoke up, moving toward them, "I think I'd like to hear what he has to say Jason. Go on." she added the next part while looking the guard - Traisec - in the eyes.

"Fine, I think I will. You and your filthy little Greek friends have no right to just barge in here onto Roman soil and tell us to hand over our supplies. You just want to make our conditions worse so that you can start a war on us. Well I'll tell you a little something priss, I ain't gonna be taking orders from _graecus_ scum like you." Traisec said, then he spat at her.

Annabeth lunged, and caught him up against the wall with her dagger out and against his throat. The other two guards tried to help their friend, but Jason and Frank grabbed them in one quick and organized move.

While the boys tied up the other guards, she talked to Traisec.

"I can understand your insults," she snarled, "you don't trust us. Why should you, when all you've ever been told is how we destroyed you? But let me tell you something, we don't plan on betraying your trust. Our numbers aren't high enough to even think about it. This war with Gaia is real, get that into your pea-sized brain and face it. We need the Romans to defeat her, and you need us. Got that?" she paused as he nodded, terrified. "And Traisec? Don't ever spit on me again."

She brought up the hilt of her dagger and used it to knock him out cold. Then she brought him over to his buddies, and used a spare bit of rope to tie him up with them.

Finally, she turned to Jason and Frank, "I need music. Percy's being attacked by birds."

"O-o-kay?" Jason asked.

"Just trust me _Sparky_."

She'd taken to calling him that ever since she'd first heard Leo and Piper use it.

Jason scowled, "Fine, you're the smart one."

She grinned, "And don't you ever forget it! Now come _on_!"

They got hold of an IPod in no time at all, and Annabeth was pleased to see that there was some Justin Beiber music on there. That was even worse than Chiron's records! If that didn't drive the monsters away, she had no idea what would.

Frank and Jason each hefted up the last two crates, and Annabeth grabbed the IPod, then they took off running back down to the ship.

At least this time the run was down hill. It made it less tiring, and got them there three times faster.

The problem was, the sight that met them was not pleasant. Percy was coiled into the fetal position on the ground, not even fighting. The birds were taking advantage of his position, and were in such a deep and dark cloud that Annabeth could barely even make out his figure through the murk. They kept swooping in and out, pecking at various places on his body.

Annabeth remembered that he had no armor on. Schist, what if a bird managed to get to his weak spot? "_PERCY!_" she shrieked, hoping that he'd give a sign of life. To her despair, he didn't. _What if he was already dead?_ She shook the thought away. No. She wouldn't let him be dead. He would not get away from her that easily. **(A/N remember this from the books? It's what she said to him when he was in the Styx! I didn't even realise it until I finished typing it... xD)**

She pulled the IPod from her pocket, and opened up to the Justin Beiber album. Then, she turned up the speaker to full blast, sent a silent prayer to Apollo to make the music magically louder, and pressed 'play'.

Beiber's song "Baby" blasted out, filling the air. Apparently Apollo had heard her prayer, because there was no way any normal music player could be that loud. Jason and Frank fell to the ground, covering their ears. Annabeth couldn't tell if it was because of the choice of music, or because of the noise level.

Either way, it worked on the birds. They screeched and flew away, about half of them disintegrating in the process.

Annabeth always knew that Justin Beiber's music was deadly.

When the birds were all gone, they could once again see Percy. Annabeth raced down to him and what she found was the most confusing thing yet. He hadn't been hurt in his Achilles spot, he had a deep puncture wound going straight through his stomach, and more all over his body. One even went into the little space behind his ear, right where the eardrum is located.

His Achilles Curse was gone.

**Hehe gotta love my cliffhangers... xD I just re-read the last chapter... It was really short! I could have had so much more detail... Sorry! Well did you like it? I'm pretty sure this is the longest chapter yet... Yay! Review please... I almost made it longer, but I decided against it because then I'd have no ideas for tomorrow... :3 Okay well ANON REPLY TIME! Just one today...  
Guest: You don't ever have to wait long! xD I upload every day, unless something comes up where I can't :) Glad you're so excited about the story though! **


	8. VIII Annabeth

**I just love getting emails that say [New| Story Follower]... Everytime I get one, I yell stalker! Haha but it makes me feel special that so many people would follow my story! I honestly didn't expect anyone except Ace and a few other people to read it... But I found out that almost 40 people have! :D Love you all so very much. Okay well you want to know what happens to Percy now... Enjoy!  
Disclaimer:  
My NCIS fanfic loving friend from before: Disclaimers are only supposed to say "I don't own this and I'm not being payed, so don't sue me."  
Me: Well that's no fun! I like to tell stories!  
Her: Well tomorrow you're showing me the disclaimer that you put me in.  
Me: Okay! xD  
Me Now: As she wanted me to say... I don't own this and I'm not being payed, so don't sue me. xD hahahahaha!**

VIII  
Annabeth

"Erm Annabeth? Didn't you say he was invunerable?"

That was Jason's voice. Annabeth barely registered it, she was so shocked at the wound in Percy's gut. He _had _been invincible... What had happened? Was it all Gaia's fault?

"He was..." Annabeth gasped out, choking back a scream.

"He didn't tell you?" Frank asked her, clearly flabbergasted. **(A/N I love that word.. xD)**

Annabeth looked up at him, wondering what on earth he could be talking about. "Didn't tell me what? What happened to him?"

"Annabeth... When he got to New Rome, the Little Tiber washed away his curse. He hasn't told me all the details though, that's all I know."

So that explained the wound. Suddenly, Annabeth sprung up, still holding him. "If he doesn't have the curse anymore, that means that this could have punctured a vital organ! Do eitherof you have ambrosia or nectar on you? We need to get him to medics _now_."

Jason pulled out a smushed and crumpled piece of ambrosia, and handed it to her. She shoved it in Percy's mouth, hoping it would dissolve and help keep the pain away. Then she began struggling to lift him up.

Seeing that Percy was clearly too heavy for Annabeth to carry, Frank motioned for her to move aside. Then, he shut his eyes, and another very confusing thing happened. Frank turned into an elephant.

"Did he-"

The elephant trumpeted anxiously, as if it was saying to hurry it up.

"Frank?" Jason asked, dumbfounded.

The beast nodded its enormous head, and kneeled down. Jason scrambled up the side, then leaned back over so that he could pull Percy up as well. After the boys were situated, Annabeth jumped onto Frank's back, and they took off towards the ship to get Will's help.

Luckily, the fight hadn't happened far from the Argo II, and they only lost about two minutes.

After Jason and Annabeth leaped off Frank's back with Percy, the elephant transformed back into a human version of Frank. Afterwards, the three of them barged up the gangway of the ship and to the infirmary, with Jason and Annabeth supporting Percy between the two of them.

Will looked surprised when they first ran in, but then Annabeth explained the situation and their healer laid Percy down on an operation table and got right to work.

For a while they were all quiet as they watched Will, and as Will concentrated. Then the Son of Apollo looked up. Annabeth felt herself suck in a breath, preparing herself for the worst news.

"You know, I never thought that when I finally saw Percy again after eight months, it would be with him injured like this."

Annabeth let out that breath. "Just try to fix him please Will, he still has a world to save."

Will nodded and went back to work.

About half an hour later, Jason tapped Annabeth's shoulder. "I'm gonna go let the others know what happened, do you mind?"

"No.. They'll be wondering where we are anyways. Go ahead." she responded. Even to herself, her voice sounded hoarse and tearful.

Jason left the room, and Annabeth turned to Frank. "You should go with him, I don't want him to be alone if he gets attacked again."

"Yes ma'am." Frank said with a small salute.

Annabeth smiled a little, "Oh just go," she said, giving him a playful shove.

Frank ran out of the room to catch up with the praetor. That left Annabeth and Will alone. "Okay," Annabeth began, "how bad is he? I'd rather know now than when a bunch of people around to see."

The light left Will's eyes, and he just looked dead tired and worried. That was _not _a good sign.

"It's not as bad as it looks, but it punctured his stomach, and that could do some damage. Hopefully the nectar will help heal it. The biggest problem is the amount of blood he's lost. Also, that hole behind his ear could mean that he can't hear as well anymore."

Not as bad as Annabeth was prepared for, but still bad enough that she had to sit down in one of the chairs that littered the room. She folded over, her arms wrapped around her own stomach, and started hyperventillating. She rocked back and forth, thinking _oh gods, why him? Why oh why is it always him? Why didn't I move faster or try to help him fight? Why didn't I save him?_

After a minute or two Will came over and placed his hand reassuringly on her shoulder. "Calm down, it's not that bad, he'll live, I'll save him. Don't worry Annabeth."

He kept telling her soothing words, until finally she managed to calm her breathing, stop rocking, and sit up straight. "You're right, thanks Will. I know you'll do your best."

Then she stood up, and even though she didn't want to leave Percy alone, she ran out of the room, down a few floors, and through a long hallway, until she reached her room. When she got there, she threw herself onto her bed and started screaming into her pillow. Soon the screams turned into sobs of anguish. It had been only five hours since she'd gotten him back, and already he had to be stupid and go get hurt. She could've saved him...

At some point Annabeth must have drifted off to sleep, because she suddenly jolted awake when horns sounded across the grounds. _Must be curfew or something_ she thought sleepily. She wondered why she felt so tired and sad, but then she remembered. _PERCY!_

Oh gods, how long had she been asleep? What if something happened to him? She leapt out of her bed, raced out the cabin, and sprinted up to the infirmary. On her way upstairs, she passed a few windows, and saw that it was dark outside. _But was it the same day? Or the next one? Or even more?_

Finally she reached the floor that the medical room was on. She sped in the doors, and over to where they had placed Percy the day before.

"Seaweed Brain," she gasped.

**The end. Until tomorrow or Sunday that is... :) I have a busy weekend ahead of me! xD Ok so the last chapter made me proud, 1,437 words! That's really long for me, I don't like to sit still for long. Just so you know, this isn't all I do! I have a life too... I just find time to post this a lot :D Well have a nice day, see you next time! Thanks for all the reviews, and keep it up please, I love em! ~La**


	9. IX Will Solace

**So I'm finding time to update this early in the morning because otherwise there might not be anything posted until Sunday.. I'm just gonna skip ahead to a Will Solace POV since I don't like Jason's, and Will is doing something important right now :) Enjoy! xD  
Disclaimer:  
Me: *bakes blue cupcakes with me mortal dad*  
Me: *Feeds cupcakes to awesome readers who review*  
Me: No own PJO or HoO so no suing Cupcakes! xD  
~La**

IX  
Will Solace

Will's day got a whole lot more interesting when Annabeth, Jason, and some buff baby-face kid, barged in the door supporting Percy in-between them.

"What happened?" he asked them, shocked.

"Stymphallion birds," Annabeth choked out, her voice strangled sounding, probably from holding back tears. "He doesn't have the curse anymore."

_No curse?_ Will thought, _How is that possible? I thought the Achilles mark couldn't wear off._

What he said though was, "Give him to me, I'll se what I can do."

Annabeth grabbed Percy and hefted him up onto the nearest operation table. Will went over to one of the counters and grabbed his supplies. Then he walked back over to the others and got right to work.

The wound in Percy's stomach was the worst, so Will started there. He dripped some nectar into the cut, and as the godly drink began closing the wound, Will wrapped bandages around it. He doubted that it would help much, but it was a start. After that, he stepped back to examine the rest of Percy's wounds. There were dozens of tiny puncture wounds all across the guy's body, and the majority of his skin and clothes was torn and bloody. The next worst problem that Will could see, however, was the puncture behind Percy's ear.

Will looked up at the others, "You know, I never thought that when I finally saw Percy again after eight months, it would be with him injured like this."

Annabeth let out a breath. "Just try to fix him please Will, he still has a world to save."

Well that was one bit of logic that he couldn't argue with. Will nodded and went back to work. He poured more nectar on Percy, this time over the hole in his ear. He figured that Annabeth would want to know what was happening, but she wouldn't take bad news well.

And that's all Will could give her at this point.

He watched as the hole in Percy's head closed a bit, then he sterilized a bandage, and pressed it over the wound. As he wrapped tape around the bandage, he heard Jason mutter something to Annabeth, she said something back, and Jason left. Barely a minute later Frank followed suit.

An awkward silence filled the air for a few moments before Annabeth broke it.

"Okay," she began, "how bad is he? I'd rather know now than when a bunch of people around to see."

Will's heart sunk. He really didn't want to tell her, but what could he do? It would be better to just face up to it now, as she'd said. Otherwise, it wouldn't set a very good impression with the Romans if the Greek leader was crying.

He sighed slightly, and gave her the truth.

"It's not as bad as it looks, but it punctured his stomach, and that could do some damage. Hopefully the nectar will help heal it. The biggest problem is the amount of blood he's lost. Also, that hole behind his ear could mean that he can't hear as well anymore."

Annabeth sat down in one of the chairs that littered the room. She folded over, her arms wrapped around her stomach, and started hyperventillating. She rocked back and forth.

After a minute or two Will came over and placed his hand reassuringly on her shoulder, hoping to calm her down some. "Calm down, it's not that bad, he'll live, I'll save him. Don't worry Annabeth."

He kept telling her soothing words, until finally she managed to calm her breathing, stop rocking, and sit up straight. "You're right, thanks Will. I know you'll do your best."

Then she stood up and ran from the room.

Will knew that she wasn't alright, but that she needed to be alone for a while. Nothing he could do would help.

Except save Percy.

So Will turned back around, and returned to the Son of Poseidon.

He started on the lighter puncture wounds, closing them with droplets of nectar. Will was careful to not use too much of the drink, because if he did it would burn Percy to ashes.

He still ended up using more than he probably should have.

After all the wounds closed, Will grabbed a square of mortal guaze, and sterilized it, then worked on making sure the wounds wouldn't get infected.

By the time Will had finished patching Percy up, it was far after the Roman curfew, and he was exaughsted. So he went over to a makeshift sleeping space in the corner of the room. When Leo had designed the ship, he had included enough cabins for nearly forty people, but when Will was offered the oppritunity to design one for himself, he had politely declined. He preferred sleeping in the infirmary where he could keep an eye on things.

Also, the hospitol floor was high enough that it still had windows, and Will enjoyed seeing the sky.

After a few minutes of thinking about nothing in particular, Will drifted into a dreamless sleep.

**Don't hate me, I know it was short. I was going to make it longer, but I really am running tight on time and I only had 30 minutes to make this! I'm so so sorry and when I update next time it will most probably be longer! Forgive me? I hope so... Well next POV to come is gonna be Leo, then it's back to Percy! Have a good weekend, I'll miss reading your reviews! Hopefully there'll be a lot when I get back! xD ~La**


	10. X Leo

**So I'm typing this Friday night to post for you all tomorrow morning before I leave... I was **feeling guilty :3 Enjoy! I must hurry and finish...  
**Disclaimer:  
My same friend as always: Put me in the disclaimer again!  
Me: Fine. Well now you're in the disclaimer, stop looking over my shoulder!  
Ace: Are you typing?  
Me: Yeah... Just for you and my frequent reviewers and the "followers" (aka stalkers! ;D)  
Ace: *smiles crazily* No! Nooo! Really? xD  
Me: :3 yeah...  
~La**

X  
Leo

Leo was kind of hurt when Jason invited all the other guys to help him lift boxes. It meant less work for Leo, but still.

Then, Leo figured that he might as well use the time to get to know some of the hot Roman chics, starting with that girl Hazel.

Well, not "get to know her" as in to _date_ her or anything. She was way too young for him! No, the girl kept staring at Leo as if he was a ghost, and he wanted to know why.

So after Jason, that Roman Frank, and the famous Percy Jackson, left to load up the ship for the journey, Leo walked over to talk to Hazel.

"Hey," he said. He felt a bit uneasy, as if he had seen her before. He just couldn't place where.

Hazel paled a bit when she saw who had greeted her, but after a moment's hesitation she just said, "Hi."

"So, I figured that the Greeks and Romans are supposed to become alliances and whatnot, might as well get to know some of them."

"And I was the nearest Roman, huh?"

"Yeah, pretty much. And Jason talked about you sometimes too."

Her face brightened up, "He did?"

"Yeah, you and his other friends from the Fifth Cohort. All the time actually, it drove me and Beauty Queen crazy!"

"Beauty Queen?"

"Piper. My advice, just call her Piper, and nothing else. She's a lot scarier than she looks."

"Yeah, pretty much figured that out when she gave _Reyna _ the death stare, right after you all landed. I've never seen anyone even _dare_ to look at her like that!"

"Well, that's Piper for ya."

Another awkward silence blanketed them, this time it was Leo who had to end it.

"Can I ask you something?"

Hazel grinned, "You just did."

"I mean, something else."

"Oh, well in that case, go ahead."

"Why do you look at me as though you're scared of me?"

Hazel's face fell. "Was it that obvious?"

He nodded.

"Leo... It's not that I'm scared of you, believe me. Just.. Well have you ever heard of someone named Sammy Valdez?"

Now it was his turn to be taken aback by a question. He had no idea how a girl as young as Hazel could know who Sammy Valdez was.

Especially since Leo's grandpa Sammy had died years before Leo had ever come around.

"Yeah," Leo responded, "he was my grandpa, but he died not too long after my mom was born, so I never met him."

Suddenly Leo realised where he'd seen Hazel before. His mom had had a few pictures of his grandpa around the shop. One of them featured a teenage Sammy, smiling by a tree with a girl. And the girl he was with looked exactly like Hazel.

What Hazel said next confirmed his crazy thought.

"Look, don't be freaked out or anything, but I was friends with Sammy when we were young. He was actually kind of my best friend, and we were becoming more, before I had to leave."

"That's impossible though! He _died _in the late Sixties, and you're only thirteen or so!"

"It's a long story, just calm down a bit and I can summarize it."

Leo took a few deep breaths so that he'd keep from going insane, then nodded to Hazel, "I'm good now, go on please?"

She took a deep breath, then began, "I grew up in New Orleans with Sammy, we were best friends, and he was pretty much the only one in town that didn't think of me as some sort of witch or freak. He worked at the stables, and on a good day he could sneak me in and we would ride, or I could just help him care for the horses. On my thirteenth birthday he was able to sneak me in to ride, and then afterwards he gave me a cupcake and a kiss on the cheek. That night my mother who was also posessed by Gaia decided to move us to Alaska, outside of the gods' reach. When we were there, Gaia bribed me into helping her raise Alcyoneus. She told me that if I helped, she'd let my mother go. Over the months my mother/Gaia would take me to a secluded island, hidden from mortal eyes, where I'd use my powers over the metals under the earth to raise the giant. On the night that Alcyoneus was supposed to rise, Gaia let my mother go. I basically killed us both, but managed to delay the giant, by collapsing the cave where he was being created. After that I spent years in Asphodel, until Nico finally found me and brought me to Camp Jupiter. I was here for a while until I met Frank and finally Percy. Then the three of us went on a quest which I'll let Percy tell you about later, to defeat Alcyoneus. On the way, Gaia told me what ended up happening to your grandfather. What had me so scared was that you looked and even acted like him."

A third silence settled down on them, until Leo said, "Look, Hazel. I don't even know you that well, but it sounds like you did something really heroic in the end. Even if I'm not Sammy, I'll be here to talk to, kay?"

She nodded her head wordlessly.

He smiled cheerily at her, "Good! cause I think that's Jason coming." he pointed up the hill at two figures coming towards them.

**The end until Sunday aka tomorrow evening! I'll be getting ideas all day today :) Just know that I stayed up from 3am-5am typing this (and doing some other stuff, and falling asleep a bit...) so I hope you enjoy it! xD Review please! I love em so very very much! Have a good weekend all! (Percy POV tomorrow! xD) ~La**


	11. XI Percy, Will, Annabeth

**I really wanted to upload again yesterday... Rawr, I had no Internet connection! But I can update now! 3 POVs in one chapt I think ;) It might be kinda short, I have no idea what is even going to happen yet! Haha... :3 ENJOY! ~La  
DISCLAIMER:  
Ace: In the last disclaimer, you forgot the disclaimer!  
Me: Aw schist really?  
Ace: Yeah...  
Me: Oops! Dude, that stinks! Now I feel silly! *turns to the camera* Me no own PJO or HoO, the characters, nor the plot or ANYTHING ELSE!  
Okay, now for the story! **

XI  
Percy

In the blackout, he was in a box. A really small tight box, but he couldn't feel the sides, just the closeness of them. And he was being shaken and bumped around far too much. He didn't have dreams, but people and scenes from his life were flashing before him. His mom and all the summers that they spent at Montauk; his quests; the times he hungout with Racheal; the few times his dad visited, and the time he visited his realm; and every single time he was with Annabeth.

His first kiss with her showed up the most.

The sleep was welcome, - yet claustrophobic - but Percy still ached. His whole body felt as if someone had been throwing darts at him all day, and a bowling ball had squashed his stomach. If he had been able to move, he would have doubled over from the pain of it.

Instead, he just felt dead.

Will

He jolted awake when he heard Annabeth's scream.

"Seaweed Brain!"

Well, that couldn't be good. Will jumped up, grabbed his tools, and raced around the corner, towards Percy.

Annabeth

Percy's skin was literally blue. Not a dark or unnatural blue, but the type of blue that you turn when you are suffocating. She rushed over to his side.

And saw that he _wasn't _breathing. Or at least, not easily. He was gasping like a fish out of water.

Annabeth grabbed him under his armpits, and hefted his limp body into a sitting position. Just then, Will appeared next to her, and pulled out some nectar and an oxygen tank.

He poured the nectar down Percy's throat first, which shocked and scared Annabeth.

"What are you doing?" she practically screeched, her voice coming out louder than she meant it to.

"The nectar will help, and I can't give it to him if his mouth and nose have tubes up them, now can I?"

He had a good point.

She watched anxiously as Will hooked Percy up to the tubes and turned on the machine. Then he poured nectar into an IV, and hooked Percy up to that as well. Finally, Will attached him to a heart moniter, and turned back to face her.

"Let him down, he needs to stay still and calm for a while. No jostling."

She eased him back onto the table.

"What happened? Why was he acting like this?"

Will shrugged, and went back to examining Percy. A few minutes later he said, "Annabeth, you might want to see this."

What scared her, was the way he said it.

She walked to stand behind him, and looked where he was pointing.

How stupid she had been! The most obvious thing appeared to her now that Will pointed it out.

Percy's torso was covered in blood, and a new knife cut was embedded in his side, right where the lungs would be.

**Sorry, so freaking short! Even worse than usual! My dad wanted the computer though... Tomorrow I'll spen a few hours to try and give you a good really long one, okay? Let me know what you think about the multiple POVs per chapter! I love feedback! ~La**


	12. XII Annabeth, Leo, Frank, Percy

**So I was just freaking out! 30 likes? YAY! I honestly only expected like 10, and all from Ace and Percy Jackson's Little Sister... :3 Thanks all, you made my boring life so much better today. Now for (hopefully) an extra long chapter to make up for yesterday! ~La  
Disclaimer:  
Me: Check the disclaimer again, I might put you in it.  
My NCIS loving friend from always: For like the fourth time?  
Me: Well yeah, you wanted to be in them!  
Her: Mmkay.  
Me: No Own PJO or HoO or nothing. And She No Own This Disclaimer :P**

**XII  
Annabeth**

Annabeth plopped down on the floor, how did she not notice? She was holding him for whole _minutes_ and she didn't notice the gash.

It's not something a daughter of Athena does, forgetting or not noticing stuff. Especially not a _chosen_ daughter of Athena. Not one like her, with the gift, and the responsibility.

"No. No, no, _no_." she moaned. She couldn't let him die now, not when it had only been a day.

Less than a day.

She stood back up. Will was tending to Percy, doing his best to close the wound, but they were all getting worse. Murphy's Law, anything that could possibly go wrong, did. The hole in his gut was slowly opening and bleeding more and more steadily as it did. The gash in his side was getting larger and more ragged as Will kept applying the medical nectar.

"Stop." she said.

Will shot her a confused glance, but continued to work.

"Will _stop_ _now!_ You're going to KILL HIM! It's only getting worse, _STOP!_"

He was so shocked when she yelled at him, that he dropped what he was doing and backed away from Percy.

"Thank you. Now we can't try to heal him, it's only making things worse. No matter how hard it gets.. we can't... can't... help."

By the time she finished her speech, she was choking back tears. Once she was done talking, she let it all out in one big, ugly sob, followed by more tears.

Why was she being so... Girlie? Cuse Percy, only _he_ could make her like that! So sobby and tearful, so weak.

Will nodded, "I think you're right, but I'm still going to pray to my dad, he's our best hope if I'm not allowed to heal Percy."

I turned my head to try and hide tears, but I don't leave. If Percy is dying, then I want to spend every second with him. Will notices that I want to be alone, so he returns to his bedspace, unable to help.

**Leo**

"Yo Jason!" he called up the hill to his best friend.

"Leo! Hazel! We have to find Piper, Percy is hurt!"

Well that shocked him. Percy wasn't supposed to get hurt at all, Annabeth had told them that he was _invincible_ for Pete's sake! Unless he's gotten hit in his Achilles spot... He looked at Hazel, she's sitting there, her face a mask of pure shock.

"C'mon!" he yelped at her as he raced to the pavillon where Piper was supposed to be. Hazel followed, hot on his heels.

Sure enough, Piper was sitting at a table, talking to Reyna. "Piper!" Leo says when he gets there, "C'mon, Percy is hurt!"

"Wh- what?" she says.

"Percy got hurt, I don't know how, but Jason needs us! So COME ON!"

She doesn't argue or anything, instead she gets up and follows him as he leads her to Jason. Reyna comes too.

**Frank**

Finally, he catches up to Jason. The praetor had already told Leo about Percy, and was now pacing the hill, waiting for his friend to return.

"Hey," Frank began.

"Oh. Hi." Jason responded dully.

"Why are _you_ so monotone? You hardly even know Percy!"

"Maybe, but I know Annabeth, and if he dies, she's never getting over him. I don't want her to be hurt, not like she was before. Plus, we all need Percy, without him we can't win."

"Good points. Still, cheer up a little, Will was fixing him up just fine."

Jason nodded. Just then, the other demigods of the prophecy - and Reyna - appeared over the hill.

"Let's go." Jason said, and began walking back to the boat. As he walked he told them what had happened.

Everybody sympathized or made preditions on how they thought the birds got into camp. They reached the ship about half an hour later, and what the saw didn't sit well, Percy was on the table bleeding to death, Annabeth was gripping his hand and crying, and Will was in the corner with his face in his hands.

"What the Hades happened?" Jason asked dumbfounded.

Will looked up, Annabeth didn't even acknowledge them, she was so far gone. "That's what I want to know."

**Percy**

The pain of being stabbed just added to his list. Oh yes, Perseus Jackson was making a _list_ of the reasons he hurt.

When the blade entered his body, Percy felt like screaming, but he couldn't emember how to. He felt as the knife dug in and punctured his lungs. After that point, it was nearly impossible to breathe. Then the blade left, and tore the skin more. Something was left, a stinging liquid that felt familiarly like poison.

Poison?

Percy was already dying, he knew it. So why would somebody add to his pain, and _poison_ him while they were at it?

Well Percy could name a few people who'd do that, and Octavion was at the top of the list. Oh that scum-bag traitor...

But he couldn't be thinking about that just then, he was still seeing the images of his life, but they were speeding up, and showing some less pleasant experiences now.

Beckendorf sacrificing himself on the Princess Andromeda.

The fight with Atlas where Zoe died.

When Luke killed himself to stop Kronos.

The list went on and on and on, neverending, the worst days of his life.

The two that kept recurring the most were:

a) when his mom got kidnapped by Hades right before she died at the hands of the minotaur.

and b) when Annabeth fell over the side of the cliff, still clinging on to Dr. Thorn.

Those two memories were often in his memories, and it was hard to bear one by one. Recurring, it was pure torture.

**Not as long as I'd have liked, but I'm having problems focusing and Ace is over now. Thanks for the reviews I love em! I'll reply later, I haven't been home much.. Now replies to the ANONS!**

**Bree (Guest): Thanks for the review, but what did you mean by "goal achieved"? And of course there will be way more Annabeth and Percy, they're my faves next to Thalia. I hope you keep reading! ~La**


	13. Quick Author's Note sorry!

**So I know there aren't supposed to be any of these, but I'd feel bad if I didn't give you an explanation for no updates. Starting today I'm only posting on Mondays, Wednesdays, and either Friday or Saturday. I just can't type that much.. I'm really sorry, and I hope you'll keep reading! Thank you for all of the nice reviews, they make me smile :) ~La**


	14. XIII Annabeth, Percy, Hazel

**Don't kill me Ace. I'll post today, just for you. But I'm serious about the other days! Here ya go, enjoy!  
Disclaimer: Ace might hate me for not posting every day now, but I still dont own PJO or HoO! xD ~La**

XIII  
Annabeth

The others came in, but she didn't pay them any attention. She focused on memorizing the sight of Percy. Each lock of hair, even the grey ones. The crease marks between his eyebrows. Every line on his hand.

She didn't want to forget any of it, she didn't want to lose it. How could he just go and die on her now? She couldn't get that one thought out of her mind.

Perseus Jackson was dying. After everything they went through before, a few stupid birds and a knife were going to finish him.

How the heck was that fair? She put her head down on the table, and still gripping his hand, fell asleep with tears streaming down her cheeks.

In her dream, Grover and Juniper appeared. Grover was propped up against a tree, moaning like he did when he got too close to the god Pan.

Annabeth had almost forgotten the empathy link he shared with Percy.

Then Grover faded and memories with Percy appeared. Them sitting on the beach together; them watching the Fourth of July fireworks; them kissing.

Yeah, especially them kissing.

Then a new image came, Percy was walking toward her, looking exactly as he did when he had kissed her underwater right after the Second Titan War.

That is to say, perfect.

"Percy!" she gasped and ran toward him. "Percy, are you okay?"

"Are you real?"

She backed up. That was what he'd asked when he didn't have his memory and they'd been able to contact him in a dream for the fist time in _months_. But why would he say it now?

"Ye-yes. I'm real. You know who I am right?"

He laughed. "Of course I know who you are Anniebell."

_Anniebell? _That was what their arrogant camp director Dionysus called her. Percy knew better than that.

"N-no, Annabeth."

"Really? I thought it was Anniebell..."

"You really didn't know my real name?"

"I guess not."

Then he disappeared.

A new dream came, and Annabeth was standing in front of her mother.

"Mom?"

"Oh, hello dear. You've finally come?"

"What do you mean?"

"Oh nevermind that. Come along, I have much to tell you."

And with that the goddess swooped away.

**Percy**

His visions stopped, and he was suddenly facing Annabeth. She looked amazing, and he had so muchhe wanted to ask her.

"Percy!" she gasped and ran toward him. "Percy, are you okay?"

_Now I am_, he was about to say, but his body didn't let him. What came out was, "Are you real?"

She backed up. That was what he'd asked her when he didn't have his memory and they'd been able to contact him in a dream for the fist time in _months_. She was probably so hurt and confused...

"Ye-yes. I'm real. You know who I am right?"

He laughed. At least that part was his idea. Of course he knew her! "Of course I know who you are Anniebell."

_Anniebell? _ Where had that come from? That was what Mr. D. called her, and Percy knew she hated it. In real life he'd never call her that!

"N-no, Annabeth." she said.

"Really? I thought it was Anniebell..."

Why, oh _why_ was this happening? He wanted so badly to tell her the truth!

"You really didn't know my real name?" she choked out.

"I guess not."

Then, the dream changed and she was gone.

"ANNABETH!" he yelled out, but she was gone. Aw, schist she was going to _kill_ him!

Then the worries changed, because he saw his surroundings. He was in a dank and musty earthen cave, Gaia's territory. Wonderful.

**Hazel**

They all jumped when Percy scream out Annabeth's name. Hazel wondered why the Greek didn't respond, but then she noticed that Annabeth was asleep.

Why did Percy scream her name though?

The others seemed to be asking the same questions. Hazel tried to focus on their conversation, but her thoughts kept straying to Leo. Sammy was his grandpa, but it was still awkward how much they were alike. After puzzling over that for a while, her thoughts strayed to Nico. They'd be saving him in Rome soon, but she was so filled for longing for him that it hurt. Finally, she thought of Arion. Would the horse accompany them? If not, who would take care of him?

Oh gosh, she was being so ADD right now.. She forced herself to focus back on what the others were saying.

"Is he dreaming you think?" Frank asked the group.

"Dunno. How can we heal him though?" Jason whispered back.

The Greek's healer - Will Solace? I think that's what Annabeth called him - looked up at them from his bunk, "You can't. It just makes things worse and opens the wounds further. All we can do is pray to my father to heal him."

What kind of people were the Greeks? Did they really think a _god_ would care enough about a demigod to heal them? No Roman would even suggest such a thing.

But she let it go, and was quiet as the others continued talking. She just wasn't in the mood to be social.

**Heehee it's longER. Still not very long though... You people must hate me for that! xD I hate my writer's block so much sometimes... It's one of the reasons that I have to update less. So sorry about that, but keep in mind that I make this up as I go along. Well hope you liked it! The random Hazel POV was on request. :) Keep reviewing! ~La**

**ANON TIME!**

**Guest: As you can see, I got your review! Haha hope you liked the Hazel POV :D**

**Guest: Why yes, I am leaving you hanging because cliffhangers are what I do best!**


	15. XIV Frank, Annabeth, Piper, Percy

**Now for the chapter of the day! Enjoy!  
Disclaimer:  
Hermes: So... I hear you have a bit of a crush on Connor?  
Me: *blushes* Well... If I had to pick a character from PJO to date then it'd be him, yes.  
Hermes: You realise he is your brother?  
Me: *turns darker red* Y-yes... But I'd never-  
Connor appears out of nowhere: *gasp!* You're my SISTER! What the Hades?  
Me: Connor...  
Connor: Say you don't own PJO!  
Me: But-  
Connor: SAY IT!  
Me: *grumbles* fine... I don't own PJO or the characters..  
*They disappear*  
Me: :O Connor!  
(lol I couldn't think of anything else... :3 Now to the chapter!)**

**XIV  
Frank**

Hazel was _way_ out of it. He wanted to comfort her, but there was no way to do it without the others seeing. So he did his best to keep an eye on her while he talked.

"Is he dreaming you think?" Frank whispered. Wow, he sure hoped so.

"Dunno. How can we heal him though?" Jason whispered back.

The Greek healer spoke up from his bunk, "You can't. It just makes things worse and opens the wounds further. All we can do is pray to my father to heal him."

Wonderful. What self-respecting god would help out a demigod? Demigods acted as pawns for the gods, nothing important enough to be noticed and cared for. Well, at least not usually... Frank decided to give it a try, and began a prayer to Apollo.

**Annabeth**

Her mother led her through a maze of books, maps, and logic problems. They must be in Athena's private library...

If only that gave her a clue to where they were headed.

They walked for about five minutes, then Athena stopped at a screen. It was set up for a video call, similar to Skype, but made for the gods.

"What's this for?" Annabeth asked.

"You have quite a few people whom would like to speak with you, but I decided it would be unwise to allow the meetings to be in person. So you are going to use this. First though, I'm sure you wish to know more on Percy?"

Annabeth's ears pricked up, "Of course! What's happened to him? Why doesn't he know me?"

Athena grimaced, "I'm afraid that I'm only permitted to give you a limited amount of knowledge.. I can't answer those questions. I may only give you a message and a brief update... Apollo is not allowed to heal him, but there _is_ a cure. He gave me a riddle for you to solve:

_You must discover the one who is least likely to help, for they will save the most. Only the unlikely may break the curse, and only the most likely inflict it." _**(A/N no comments on how it didnt rhyme, it had the rhythm of a riddle so it's okay.)**

"But mother! That didn't tell me much of anything! There's 8.7 billion people in the world, how on earth am I going to find a single person?"

"You over think this, Annabeth. The answer is right under your nose. Now do you want an update on Percy's condition? Or shall I begin the video call?"

"Update please."

"Very well. Percy has aproximately thirty-four hours to live, unless you find the cure. The knife that pierced his side had a slow working poison coating the blade. If the poison hadn't entered his system then he would have lived, but the poison prevents healing. Understand?"

"Y-yes mother."

"Good. Now Poseidon has requested to see you."

Well that didn't sound good...

Annabeth's mother turned on the giant screen and an image of the sea god appeared.

"Hello, Annabeth." he said. His normally cheery eyes were dull, and his hair had streaks of gray.

"Hello Lord Poseidon. What can I do for you?"

"Keep Percy alive, end this war, come home safe. But I doubt all three will happen, so just focus on the second one. The first one ties in to it... Percy will play a big part in the war, he will make or break it."

"I understand. But I have no idea where to start looking!"

"Just remember the riddle. It tells you all you need to know."

"Yes sir."

"Take care Annabeth, and don't forget what I've told you."

"Of course not."

Then the god evaporated into a cool sea breeze.

Annabeth turned back to her mother, "Now who do I have to talk to?"

She smiled grimly, "Zeus."

**Piper**

So both the Greek leaders were dead to the world. Wait no... That wasn't right. One of them might actually _be dead_. She shuddered at that thought. She'd only known Percy for a few hours, but he seemed like a good guy, not one that deserved to die.

Piper, Jason, and Frank were the only ones really participating in the conversation. Hazel was zoned out, and Leo kept fidgeting and shifting around.

Oh gods, Annabeth must be feeling so bad. Piper was almost glad that the girl was asleep. It sounded like she was having pleasant dreams too, at one point she murmered "Percy", and her hand tightened on his.

It was both adorable and depressing to watch.

"Jason... What are we going to do if he doesn't make it through this?" she asked.

Jason looked stricken, "Gods Piper, he has to live through this or the world ends. I don't think there's any other option for him or us."

Well that planted nice images in her mind! "Still, it's impossible to heal him, if he's not awake by the time we leave, I think we'll have to go on without him and do our best."

"Our best would get us killed, he's half of our leadership!"

"We'd still have you. We can't just give up on the world if Percy dies."

"I know... It's just, I can't lead an army on my own. And Percy was obviously part of the seven for more than his role of leadership..."

"Don't worry Jason, he probably won't die if he's that important."

"True... Still."

"And if he does, Pipes and I have got your back." Leo said, speaking up.

"Exactly." she said, smiling at the Repair Boy.

"And I'm sure that Beauty Queen here will be making out with you in between the fights, which can't happen if we're all dead! So don't give up and all that hubbub!"

She punches him hard in the arm, "We don't _makeout_, we aren't even dating!"

Both Jason and I are blushing fiercely, Leo usually doesn't say stuff as bad as that. Our flame-throwing friend backs up, "OW! Jeez Piper! That _hurt_."

She glared at him, "Serves you right! Telling lies like that."

"Who said it was a lie?" he taunts.

"Leo, shut up. Now." Piper grits through my teeth.

Then we hear someone shift from the other side of the room.

**Percy  
**He opens his eyes.

**This chapter took me FOREVER to type! Egh! Well I had the Percy part since the beginning... Did you like it? :3 You all can hate on me for that... I don't mind, but I like nice reviews more! Okay, well I'll be back on Friday or Saturday! See ya! ~La  
REPLIES TO ANONS FOR CHAPTERS 13 AND 14**

**Chase: Sowwy!**

**Guest: I write as fast as I can! I promise.**

**Guest: Haha glad you liked it. Any other requests for POVs?  
**


	16. XV Hazel, Leo, Reyna, Frank

**It's Saturday! Yay my summer school is almost over! On Tuesday and Wednesday of next week you're getting posts, because on Thursday I'm going on vacation for 10 days and I'm not sure when or if I'll be able to update while there. My uncle is getting married! xD So let's see now... Where did I leave off? Oh right. That AMAZING (if I do say so myself) Cliffhanger! I was proud :) Now enjoy this chapter! ~La**

**Disclaimer:  
Me: Connor, I didn't mean it like-  
Connor: GO AWAY YOU FREAK OF NATURE!  
Me: *sniff sniff cry cry (not really)* Okay... I just wanted to say that I know I don't own PJO or HoO or the characters or anything, but I hope you can forgive me.  
Connor: *Walks away*  
Me: Aw schist...**

**XV  
Hazel**

She saw the others turn, so she did to. Then she saw what they were looking at.

"Percy?" she gasped. His eyes were open... How were his eyes open?

Hazel walked over to him slowly; she felt as though she were in a trance. He was an inch away from death, how could he open his eyes?

Then she saw, his eyes may have been open, but they were glazed over and dead-looking.

Still, how did he open them in the first place?

She grabbed his shoulder and shook it lightly, instantly a bruise appeared where she had touched. Now the others were behind her as well. Annabeth however, was still asleep, and holding Percy's hand.

Percy didn't react at all to Hazel's touch, but his eyes _did_ twitch a bit.

"Percy? Are you there?

No answer.

Hazel looked back at the others, "This is bad... Really really bad.. Will, are you sure there's nothing we can do but pray? Cause that sounds a bit cliche and we're demigods, nothing is cliche for us!"

Will shook his head at her.

Hazel sighed. _Great,_ she thought,_ so one of my best friends is dying and theres no cure and its not even natural. _

This was going to be a long day.

**Leo**

So Leo couldn't sit still. His ADHD was really kicking in, and even though the technical leader of his camp was dying, he couldn't think too much about it. Instead, he fidgeted with stuff in his tool belt, and let his thoughts wander.

But then Percy shifted a little bit in his sleep, and everyone stopped talking and went to investigate. Hazel seemed to be the most worried, outside of Will and Annabeth. She was shaking Percy, but there was no response. Hazel asked Will if there was any other way, besides praying to Apollo, and Will said no.

_Well that's fantastic. Oh gods, Annabeth is gonna be so sad when she wakes up..._

And then, she did wake up. Her eyes snapped open, and her head left the table, but she didn't let go of Percy's hand the whole time.

"What happened?" she asked them.

_Uh oh._

How were they going to explain that Percy was still dying, but that his eyes had opened?

Apparently they wouldn't have to, because right after she asked, Annabeth looked down and saw for herself.

"Percy?" she asked, sounding dazed.

"Annabeth, he's not responding... We don't know how or why he opened his eyes either." Leo told her.

"Oh..." she said, the small light of hope that had entered her eyes flickering out. Leo felt bad that he was the one to give her the news, but someone had to.

He watched as Piper went over and gave wisdom's daughter a hug. Suddenly, Leo felt like an intrusion. Annabeth probably wanted to be alone right now, so they wouldn't see her crying.

He shifted awkwardly onto one foot, and shoved his hands into his pockets.

**Reyna**

The Greek girl obviously wished she were alone so that she could cry. Honestly, Reyna couldn't blame Annabeth for being sad. She didn't particularly like Jackson, but he had saved her home, and he was technically still praetor even though he'd decided to give Jason back the position.

Safe to say, Reyna could understand Annabeth's feelings toward so many people watching, and therefore she decided to clear out the room a bit. The Leo kid was already fidgeting in the corner, so she decided to start with him.

She edged her way over by him.

"Hey," he muttered.

"Hello, you realise Annabeth wants to be alone right now right?"

"Yeah."

"Well then get Jason and your Greek friend out of here. I'll go send Hazel and Frank back to their regular activities."

"Okay then."

She watched as Leo went over to his friends and somehow convinced them to leave. Then, once they were gone, Reyna cleared her throat.

"Frank, Hazel, I understand that you want to stay by Percy right now, but you really must get back to your regular activities."

"But-" Frank started. Reyna cut him off.

"Go."

Hazel nodded in understanding, and grabbed Frank's hand, then lead him out of the room.

That left Annabeth, Will, and Reyna alone with the unconcious form of Percy Jackson. Annabeth looked up at Reyna.

"Thank you" the girl said.

"You are welcome." Reyna responded, then turned and walked out of the room.

**Frank**

He couldn't believe that Reyna had just kicked them out like that! Percy was their _friend._ What shocked him even more though, was that Hazel had just gone along with it, and led him off to where the rest of the cohort was having their Latin verbs class.

"What was that for?" he asked her as they walked.

Hazel sighed, "You couldn't see it? Annabeth was about to _cry_, and Reyna was getting us out of there so that she could cry in private. Think about it Frank, Annabeth sees Percy for a few hours after eight months of not knowing where he was, or if he was even alive! Then he goes and gets hurt, and there isn't any way to heal him. Of course she's going to cry."

"Oh." That's all he could say.

"Come on, we got to learn some verbs, then we can go back and check on Percy later."

"I guess..."

**Merp a lerp. No cliffy this time! And after the last one... Well rawr. Honestly, I did **_**not**_** want to write today after that 2,158 word chapter for the side story that I had to make yesterday! Hehe well that's my bad excuse for why this chapter is boring. I'll try to move along with the story on Tuesday! **

**ANONS!**

**UrNeighbor Missy: Jeez, why didn't you just use the account girlie? Huh? Mkay well I'll answer the actual review now... You dislike and love me? Hmm okay then. You know what's gonna happen for the most part anyways, so why do you dislike me? I coulda told you nothing... hehe! Well I'm never gonna stop leaving you hanging, so get used to it. And you know I had to slow down my updates, it was waaaay too hard! Haha well hurry back from house hunting! **

**Celty98: A butt-munch? Hmm how so? Was it the cliffy? I love those! xD**

**Guest: I love the Leo/Sammy thing too, and if Ace woulda let me, Leo would have been Sammy in this story. Too many people have Sammy being Leo's grandpa... haha I'm glad that someone at least enjoys my cliff hangers, and I'm glad that you look forward to my updates! Keep reading ;)**

**Guest: Why on earth would I do the POV of the person who hurt Percy? Well technically... Egh, re-read the riddle, the seemingly bad-guy is gonna be the good guy, and vice-versa because I like to mess with peoples minds. But seriously, I'm not giving away who does/did what until Annabeth finds out herself! xD Keep reading and you shall see... :3 **

**~La**


	17. XVI Percy, Piper, Annabeth

**Tuesday=Update! But none tomorrow, I'm afraid. I need to pack and write a chapter with Ace for our Side Story! Sorry... Okay well enjoy the chapter! And please review, I didnt get any last chapter! ~La  
Disclaimer: Me no own PJO or HoO so no suing me!**

**XVI  
Percy**

What he saw was through a filmy screen. His friends were looking over him, and they seemed to be talking. This went on for a while, then Annabeth's curly blonde hair came into view. It wasn't it's normal blonde, the screen made it look muddy and pale.

Slowly her face came into focus, and it took on the same dull pastel color as everything else. Her eyes though, they were the same old piercing grey that would have given him chills if he could move. They were filled with worry and hatred and disappointment and anxiety; all at once.

Worry for him (he hoped, no one else could be hurt... right?).

Hatred for many things. Gaia, the birds, Hera... The list went on and on.

Disappointment because his eyes were open but not seeing.

Anxiety because they needed to move on, but he was beyond injured, and on the verge of death.

Those were Percy's best guesses, but of course he could be wrong. She might be disappointed that he wasnt dead, although he doubted it, and hoped not.

Annabeth's eyes filled with tears and she turned away from the others and faced Percy. The girl named Piper came over and gave her a hug.

Oh gods how Percy wished he could reassure her like that. He would _not _die now, not after all those quests. He'd faced much worse things, no way would he allow a few metal birds to be the end of him.

And yet... The stab. He hadn't seen who it had been, but he remembered the feel of the knife. Cold, and metallic; icy on his clammy and feverish skin. His mind replayed the memory of how the stab had felt. It had dug in between his ribs, and he felt it puncture a lung. The assailant twisted the blade, causing more damage. His attacker pulled the weapon out, diagnally opposite from the way it went in. It was as if they knew exactly how to cause the slowest and most painful death, and used that method on him.

The worst part? It happened hours ago, and he should have been dead by now. But no, the blade was coated in something that would coat the holes in his skin, but burn him at the same time. It kept the just enough air in his lungs so that he could live, but not enough for his breathing to stay even. It held in the blood so that he wouldn't bleed to death, but it burned his veins.

It was pure torture.

Any time Will tried to cover a wound, the poison would allow a certain ammount of blood to spurt out, and the injury would get bigger. Percy just wanted it to end... for him to be dead and away from the pain and responsibility. But, he couldn't have that. No, of course he couldn't. Nothing was ever easy or normal for him, and death wouldnt be any excdeption.

So Percy just laid there and took in his surroundings curiously.

**Piper**

She was reluctant to leave Annabeth, for fear of what her friend would do if Percy got worse. The wise daughter of Athena was having serious issues ever since... Well as long as Piper had known her.

But she'd seen Annabeth's other, non-insane-with-worry side, and it was actually fun to be around. And that side had come out for the longest time yet, (four hours!) before the bird incident.

Piper just wanted that side of her friend to stay.

However, Annabeth did need to be alone. You could see it in her eyes and posture, which were deflated and hopeless. Annabeth would never cry in front of them. Piper left with the others.

As they walked, she thought about Reyna. The praetor had taken charge of the whole situation nicely, having Leo get Jason and Piper out, and then sending Frank and Hazel back to their activities. Very wise, and decently subtle.

Yeah, Piper thought Reyna was pretty cool. The girl was an amazing fighter from what Jason had described; she knew how to lead; she was loyal to Rome, but forgiving enough of others that she accepted the Greeks. Pretty decent, and if there was time Piper would almost want to be her friend.

Almost. There was, of course, the fact that before Jason had been switched out with Percy, he and Reyna had been close. Close as in almost dating.

That wasn't going to work out great...

**Annabeth**

Now that she was awake, she had time to think about the riddle.

_You must discover the one who is least likely to help, for they will save the most. Only the unlikely may break the curse, and only the most likely inflict it._

Least likely to help? Well from what Percy had told her, that sounded like the Octavion kid. But there were so many people in the world, it could be anyone!

_No, _Athena had said the answer was right under her nose... _Who else?_

She decided to move on to the next line, and work out the first one later.

Unlikely? Unlikely as in... the one who would be the least likely to hurt him? Well that would be quite...

_Oh_.

Suddenly Annabeth understood exactly what had happened. She ran out of the room.

**Oh gods it's short... So flibbing sorry! But I needed that cliff hanger, it was too good to resist! And there wasn't one last time... Is that why no one reviewed? People, I read my story visitor statistics, 22 people read the last chapter. I only got one review and it was from Ace! If you don't review, how do I get better? Please please please give me suggestions or critique or ANYTHING! I truly do love it and will reply to every one of them!**

**Kay well I need another note... Dear authors of , Please pretty please do not post stories that go into disturbing details and give little girls nightmares because I did not need that! Keep it down to a 15yr old level max? That or rate it all the way up so we know not to click it! Sincerely, La**

**(sorry for the super long authors note)**


	18. XVII Will, Jason, Annabeth, Percy

**Back at last! Awesome vacation, and I SAW THE ST. LOUIS ARCH! xD Well you want a chapter so I won't keep you much longer. Thanks for the reviews, you people are amazing! ~La  
Disclaimer:  
Me: I saw the Arch! But the water, it was too low for me to jump! I would have gotten hurt, and then there would be no way for me to say, "I OWN NONE OF THIS!" That would be horrible! Plus I don't like blowing things up, and the windows were TINY!**

**XVII**

**Will Solace**

He was left alone with Percy, who was still staring blankly at the ceiling. Why had Annabeth just run out like that? Will had been sure that with Percy hurt like this... She would never leave his side.

_Oh well, she's Annabeth after all. She probably had a very good reason._

So Will watched and tried his best to keep a clear head as Percy bled to death. It wasn't easy at all, he was a healer, and watching people suffer and die was not something he did. Especially not when the cuts would normally be healable by ambrosia and a few bandages... Or when it was his friend...

All in all, it was safe to say that Will felt tortured too. He didn't like feeling so helpless and weak, and this was his area of expertice.

He satisfied himself by continually praying to any god he could think of; more than anything, his father and Poseidon. After all, they'd be the most likely to help, what with Percy being Poseidon's son, and Apollo being the god of healing.

For quite some time it was looking like none of the gods were ever going to answer. Will was just about to give up, when suddenly the air began to shimmer and glow. He covered Percy's eyes with one hand, and his own with the other. When the light dissipated, Will lifted his hands.

"Hi son!" Apollo grinned at him.

"Um... hi? What took so long? I mean I must have prayed to you fifteen times and you just now answer? Percy could've died in that time!"

To his surprise, Apollo scowled. "Yes, I know... And I would have been here sooner if Zeus hadn't tried to stop me. He said that we shouldn't 'interfere' with your quest, but really? It hasn't even started yet, and we'll need Jackson if the world is to survive..."

"So you can at least heal him?"

"Of course I could! But your friend Annabeth has to solve the riddle first... I can't heal him until he's _healable_ after all! And as a god I can't do that myself... No, I'm afraid we'll have to wait a bit..."

Will sighed, his all powerful _godly_ father couldn't undo a curse?

But he still sat down to wait.

**Jason**

Jason saw Piper was off in her own thoughts, and he had plenty to think about too, so he was quiet as the walked.

If Percy didn't wake up within the next two days, they may have to leave with him still injured and incapable. Or worse, without him at all.

Jason was a leader, but the idea of leading two enemy camps into a war all by himself was positively terrifying. He would need Percy by his side, otherwise everything could fall apart... He didn't want to even think about what would happen then.

How could Percy get better though, if it was impossible to cure him?

**Annabeth**

She ran all the way to the praetors' homes that Jason had pointed out to her from the ship as they flew into camp. She knocked on the door of the one on the left, figuring that it would be Reyna's, since it looked less abandoned.

The female praetor answered the door a few minutes later.

"Annabeth? What are you-"

"Where would Octavion be right now? Do you know?" Annabeth asked, cutting her off.

"I'm pretty sure his cohort is at training in the Coliseum... Why?"

"I need to ask him something. Thanks for the help!"

And she was off, running as fast as she could towards the Coliseum.

**Percy**

Annabeth left, he wasn't sure why. Will came over, and was watching him, looking awkward. Percy could tell that the healer wanted to help, but couldn't. Then the light in the room intensified slightly, and a hand covered Percy's vision. When the makeshift blindfold was gone, he could see Apollo standing there.

The god and Will were talking animatedly, and it seemed that Apollo won the argument.

Percy was wishing that Annabeth would come back... If the poison was going to kill him, he felt that the last thing he would want to see would be her.

He sighed and closed his eyes.

_Wait! _he thought, _I can sigh? And control my eyes?_

It was small, but at least a start.

**Shorty short short... Tsk tsk! I'm so flibbing sorry peoples! Hopefully I can update often, once school starts it may change to "whenever possible", so I might not update often one week, but then every day the next! But for now it's a short chapter. I was in the car for 16 straight hours, and have a headache, please forgive me? Okay, ANON TIME!**

**Guest: Why thank you! I do my best, and I try to fix it when I slip POVs, but sometimes I don't catch stuff. :3**

**kimikimchi808: D? I don't understand... **

**Guest: You'll have to wait and see, but I don't particularly enjoy killing characters... You won't need to bring any safety scissors, I have about 4 pairs in my house, along with 6 pairs of regular scissors, and a pair of kitchen shears! :) I keep them handy for good reasons...**

**avocran: They're always short... Sorry for that! And it's always nice to get compliments on my cliffy's, thank you! :D**

**Guest: Well I don't plan on stopping anytime soon! xD But as for knowing what happens... You might have to wait! Say... every other day or so? :P**

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed! I love em! Hope you all keep reading and reviewing! xD **


	19. XVIII Annabeth

**Shout out to **_ DandelionsAndDaydreams _**and **_Shur'tugal Daughter of Artemis_** for your reviews. They made my day, and were very helpful! Thanks to the other reviewers too, I love em! Now for the chapter.  
Disclaimer: I dont own nothing. Capiche? **

**XVIII**

**Annabeth**

She found Octavion almost immediately, and went over to him.

"I need your help." she said from a yard away.

He turned away from watching his fellow legionaires spar to face her. "And why exactly should I help a filthy _graecus_ like you?"

Well it was more polite than she expected... "Because, your praetor is grievously injured and as a royal Roman soldier you are entitled to provide assistance in any way possible. Plus, you're the augur, you know how to save him. Don't you?"

"I am a royal Roman, you're right. So why should I help the _former_ praetor, who is a Greek by the way, and his weakling of a girlfriend?"

Annabeth drew her dagger, and in moments she him pinned against the wall with the blade at his throat. "Firstly, do not ever call me a _weakling_ again. Second, if you choose to be a coward and a traitor, then so be it. But I do believe that the Romans kill traitors? I see no reason to not do so for them if you don't tell me what I need to save Percy _and _this quest. Don't lieand say you don't know, you've already made it apparent that you do."

Octavion rolled his eyes, as though he wasn't a muscle spasm away from having his head lopped off. "Whatever. I'll answer two questions, _oh mighty one._"

"How do I make Percy healable again?" she asked, never moving her eyes off him, nor removing the blade.

"Easy, heal him. It looks like it makes things worse right? But it doesn't. Feed him a square of your ambrosia, then heal him as you would normally."

"Who hurt him? Who gave him that slash in his side?"

"Those are two very different questions. I only promised you two answers, and since you already got one... Well, I thought that who hurt him would be obvious. Gaia did of course."

"_What?!_ How did she-"

He cut her off. "Nuh uh, I said two questions. Now leave, this is a training session, and you're interrupting it."

And with that he turned around and walked towards a few of his 'friends'.

Annabeth sighed, exasperated, and ran back to the ship. She didn't know how Gaia could have hurt her boyfriend, nor what Octavion meant by hers being two completely different questions, but she did have one answer, and it was the most important. At least she knew how to save Percy.

She got back to the ship and found not only Will waiting, but also...

"A-Apollo?"

"Hello, Annabeth. Did you get the answers?"

"How'd you- Oh nevermind... Yes I did. Will, you just have to heal him. It's not how it looks, it doesn't hurt him. Just feed him a square of ambrosia first..."

Will gaped at her in shock.

"Annabeth! That's absolutely insane, he'll be killed! You saw, whenever we tried to do _anything_ he got so much worse!"

"Will. Just- please... Please just try it..."

He nodded and went to work, his father watching over his shoulder and giving tips every once in a while.

Meanwhile, Annabeth sank down in a chair next to the Seaweed Brain. She was utterly exaughsted.

**After a certain very wise review, I decided to try going back to one POV per chapter. This one is VERY short, worse than usual, but I was going for quality not quantity. Plus I got my wires tightened on my braces an hour ago so I'm in pain... I dont write well when Im in pain... Oh well, hope you liked it! Please keep up the amazing reviews! ~La**

**ANONS**

**avocran: Thanks for reviewing again! I'm not going to tell you because I honestly don't know... I never do. I figured I was spelling it wrong, I don't have spellcheck and even though I try, I'm not a dictionary! xD Glad you like the story.**

**Celty98: Thank you for the repeated reviews, glad you like the chapter!**

**wisdom girl owl love: Heehee I do that sometimes... Dont bother logging in and be ANONYMOUS! Sounds so mysterious! xD And yeah, I kinda figured it out, no worries! ;)**


	20. XIX Annabeth

**Oh gosh, I'm so sorry for missing my update day! I planned on updating Saturday, but had an unplanned sleepover. My best friend is moving tomorrow so... Okay! Well I can update now, enjoy!  
Disclaimer: Me no own PJO or HoO or characters... NOTHING! Capiche? Capiche.  
Special thanks to my regular reviewers! You people make me smile, and keep writing this!**

**XIX**

**Annabeth**

It took Will and Apollo combined about twenty minutes of work, before Percy finally blinked and looked around.

_Well thank the gods and Will that it worked..._

Annabeth let out a sigh of relief. She could finally relax, now that the horrible vacant look was gone from his eyes, replaced by bewilderment.

"Please tell me that it was all just an abnormally weird dream..." Percy muttered.

"You seaweed brain!" Annabeth yelled, causing him and Will to both jump, and Apollo to give her a bemused look. "You almost died for a bunch of stupid birds! And then have the nerves to think it's a dream?!" she punched him hard on the arm.

"Ow!" he exclaimed.

"Well you deserved that for making me worried out of my mind!" she exclaimed and ran a hand through her hair.

"I'm sorry.."

"I guess I could forgive you... Just dont do it again! Okay?" She didn't think she could live with him almost dying _again_.

"Okay." he said, and laid back on the table.

Annabeth thought for a moment. He'd been unconcious when the attacker had come, right? But maybe... Just maybe his subconcious had picked up something? It was worth a try...

"Percy? Do you know who stabbed you?" she asked hesitantly.

His face flashed with indescision and then disbelief.

"I'll tell you later, okay?" he said cautiously, as though he were hiding something.

"Perseus Jackson, why on earth cant you tell me right now?! I want to get the scumbag arrested!" Annabeth protested.

He winced, "Annabeth, trust me. I can't tell you yet, okay?"

She glared at him. _Why wouldn't he tell her? _"Fine..."

Just then, Apollo cleared his throat. "Well, I really should be getting back to Olympus now... Glad you're alive Percy, take care Annabeth, and nice to see you, son! Adios, amigos!"

Then he started to glow. They all turned their heads and covered their eyes for protection. A moment later, the god was gone.

Silence. Annabeth and Percy were still staring at eachother, the former glaring.

Will shifted awkwardly on his feet. "Er- I guess I'll be downstairs in... The game room? Call me if anything happens.."

And he left as well, racing from the room almost comically.

Annabeth turned on Percy, "Now will you tell me who stabbed you?!"

"I don't think you really want to know right now..." he muttered.

"And why not?"

"Because I don't think you'd take it very well. Thats all. Can I get some rest now? I'm tired... Near-death experience and all, it does that to you."

"I suppose. You are feeling better, right?"

"Just peachy, now please stop pestering me?"

"Oh alright." She said and leaned back in her chair, taking his hand in hers.

They sat there for a moment longer, then she brought up her other hand and stroked his hair back from his forehead. "You really had me worried, Seaweed Brain." she whispered.

"Like I said, I'm sorry." He muttered again.

"I know, it wasnt your fault. Still... I'd like to know who made you hurt worse, so that I can make sure they're punished." She said, and reached down for assurance that her daggar was still right where she left it.

"Are you sure you mean that?" he asked, a minute later.

"Definitely. Why would I not?"

"So, you really don't remember then?" he cautioned, shrinking back.

"Remember what?"

"Annabeth, you're the one who stabbed me."

"_WHAT?!_" she yelped.

**Psch, Octavion... Nah, I thought this would be much more interesting! xD Why did everybody think it was Octavion? **_**"You must discover the one who is least likely to help, for they will save the most. Only the unlikely may break the curse, and only the most likely inflict it." **_**Annabeth was unlikely to hurt him, so it was she who did! Heehee! Okay, well I'm quite sad to tell you that since school will be starting on Thursday, I'm going into a twice a week update. Monday and Thursday, okay? Sorry! ~La  
ANONS**

**Taylor: *bows* thats what I was going for! Dont you love when you laugh and its silent around you? So awkward...**

**avocran: *bows (again)* Aw thank you! And Octavion wasn't scared because I was having him be all nonchalant. I'll work with it later... (foreshadowing!) Thank you, it's all gone now! Braces = a pain in the butt.**

**Celty98: Thanks!**


	21. XX Piper

**First day of school was today... And my L.A. (English) teacher loves to read, and she read all the Percy Jackson books! :D Okay, well update time... Where did I leave off? And what chapter is this?! O.o ~La  
Me no own no characters or anything PJO or HoO or KC or Rick Riordan in general... I wish!**

**XX**

**Piper**

She came back to the ship with Leo and Jason, later that night. Immediately they went to the infirmary to check on Percy. Piper hoped for Annabeth's sake that he was better... But she didn't really expect to see that.

What she _really_ didn't anticipate, was that Percy would be awake and sitting up, patting Annabeth on the back while she cried, and looking quite awkward.

"Um... hi? Annabeth, Percy, what happened?" she asked, stepping into the room and pulling the door shut. She left the boys in the hallway.

Percy looked up at her, and grimaced a bit. Even if he quickly covered it, it still hurt her. _How rude!_ "Hey, Piper right? Er- I think I'll let Annabeth tell you... If she wants. Not really my place and all that..."

"Oh uh.. Okay? Well you're better now, then? No more fatal injuries or near-death experiences to worry about?"

Percy laughed, "Nah, I'm fine. Listen, if you two want to talk I could just uh... Step out into the hallway?"

Annabeth looked up at him, sniffling. Suddenly Piper felt like an intruder... which she supposed she kind of was... Afterall, she _had_ sorta barged in on them...

But that was beside the point.

"Percy... I'm s-_so_ sorry..." Annabeth cried into her hands (which had just returned to her face)

"It's alright, I know you didn't mean it. And I swear, once I find out who _did_ make it happen, I'll kill them. But I think Piper wants to speak with you. I'll be in the hallway, okay?" Percy replied and kissed her on the head.

Then he slumped out of the room.

I made my way to Annabeth, and wrapped my arms around her shoulders.

"Anna, what happened? Why are you crying?" I said soothingly, using the nickname I'd made for her, and lathering on some calming charmspeak.

"Y-you know how Percy had that s-s-slash in his side?" she asks me, clearly trying to still the sobs.

"Yeah...? What about it? It's gone now right? Nothing else to hurt him?"

"Yeah it's g-gone but..." she has to stop as she lets out another small sob. "Piper, _I_ did that t-to him a-and I d-didn't kn-know and... oh gods what _h-happened?!_"

"You did what? But... Annabeth, that's insane! You would never hurt Percy!"

"I kn-know but he s-said it looked like me... And it would fit with the r-riddle my mother gave me..." she says dejectedly. Then she whispers, "We think... We think I was asleep... And someone influenced me..."

Piper's eyes widened in horror. "Is that even possible?" she breathed out.

"I don't know... I- I don't know how it could've been me in the first place! What could posess me like that...?"

"Aw, Annabeth..." What could Piper say? What are you supposed to tell your friend when they may or may not have been posessed and tried to murder their soul mate?

That topic didn't come up much...

~line break (cause these dont ever work anymore...)~

The next night, Piper was on the deck of the Argo II with Jason. They were holding hands and watching the stars as the ship sailed.

Oh yeah, they'd decided to get started on their journey now that Percy was feeling better.

"Pipes... What do you think is going to happen in Rome? I know that Percy, Frank, and Hazel said we had to close the Doors of Death and try to find Nico in the process, but how are we going to do that if we have no clue where the Doors would be? It could take us years to find them!"

Piper shuddered, half from the sudden gust of wind, and half from the prospect of the unknown. "I dunno Jas, but it's cold out here, can we go in?"

"Sure." He said, and wrapped an arm around her as they walked back to the lower decks.

She might not know what was coming, but Piper knew that she sure as heck wouldn't waste _now_.

She leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek.

"Thanks, Sparky."

Then she ran to her cabin before he could shock her for that comment.

**Aww :') It's still too short for my liking, but this needed less Percabeth and more Jasper. Heck, you can never get too much Percabeth... But it needed more Jasper! I think next I'll do a bit of Frazel ;) Lemme know what you thought! I like reviews, and dont be afraid to critisize as long as you're kind about it! Critism = good news. NOW: **

**ANONS:**

**avocran: *bowing to your compliment* Thanks! I tried ;) I have no idea how the others will react, but Piper didnt freak so.. Then again, from the MoA first chapter, it seems like Piper and Annabeth became pretty close friends over those 8 months! Thanks again, it's fine about my friend, I'll be seeing her soon... But I do miss her like crazy :D And thanks a third time, the first day of school was fun but boring too... Stupid pep talks. :/**

**YourMovingBuddy: Hallo Demmy, I miss you but I still haven't cried! xD I was just teared up... And it was the weirdest time too! Stop spamming my phone during school... -.- By the way, Elisa is based off my true life story, didn't ya know? Of course I'll read your mind! xD Thanks, of course I'll get amazing grades, always do! Email me a chapter and I'll edit it okay? Be creative. We need to update the Side Story!**

**~La**


	22. XXI Frank

**Beh nuuuuu! Frazel time! Now for the chapter. (ABCDEFG = Linebreak)  
Disclaimer: At this point I wish I owned PJO and HoO so that I'd KNOW what's going to happen in MoA, but alas, I do not. **

**XXI**

**Frank**

The morning after the Argo II set sail, Frank and Hazel went upstairs to visit Percy in the ship's infirmary. Their friend didn't really _need_ to be staying in the sick wing, but that Will Solace kid had insisted.

When they stepped into the hospitol wing, the couple was very surprised to find that Annabeth had left. She hadn't left Percy's side at all since they'd set off.

"Hey!" Percy exclaimed, grinning as his friends walked into the room.

"Hi Perce, how you doing?" Frank asked. Hazel glared at him. "What?"

"_Frank,_ Percy was stabbed and almost died, and you ask him how he's doing?!" she whispered.

Percy laughed, "It's fine, Hazel. I'm alright now... It was just a little cut."

To Frank's immense relief, his girlfriend's eyes settled on Percy instead. "Okay, it was _not_ just a little cut, for starters. It was deep and you were half-dead, so don't lie to us. Second, how can you just laugh this off? Someone set those birds on you, and stabbed you. Someone was clearly trying to sabatogue this quest!"

"Haze... Calm down, kay?" Frank muttered. She usually didn't intimidate him like this, she must've been really scared for Percy... Would she have been this worried if it was _him_ that'd almost died?

"Hazel, I know who stabbed me, and before you ask, _no_ I will not tell you, and _no_ they are not a threat. But yeah, the bird attack has me confused. Whatever though, whoever did it is probably miles away back at Camp Jupiter, right?"

"I... I guess you have a point. But if you know who stabbed you then-"

She stopped when a flash of guilt flickered across Percy's features.

"Can we talk about something else?" Percy asked.

"I guess..."

"Thank-you. Now do either of you know whether or not we're making a detour back to Camp Half-blood? It was never really determined before..."

Ah, the hard question. Frank winced, "Actually... The others found it would be best to just head straight to Rome and not waste any time... We'd have no reason to go to your Camp because they already helped supply the ship, and the only thing left to do there would be your reunion... It just made sense not to go back."

He saw his friend's face harden a bit. "Oh, okay. Yeah, that makes sense... It wouldn't be good to waste time it's just..." Percy sighed. "It would've been nice to see home... And my other friends, my mom, and Paul."

"I'm sorry man." Frank said.

"It's okay, I understand."

"Want us to go?" Hazel asked, sympathetically.

"Nah, you're okay. It's nice to have company, since Will ordered me to bed-rest and all. Can't possibly tell you how _annoying_ that is. I should be out on deck training. It's been almost four days since I last lifted my sword, you know. And I still haven't seen the rest of the ship..."

"Well, my friend, I think I could find a way to help you out." Frank grinned, an evil glint in his eye... Or at least it felt like the glint was there. That's what happened in movies right?

"What's the plan?" Percy questioned, sitting up straighter in his bed.

**ABCDEFG**

Fourteen hours later, it was midnight, and Frank, Hazel, and Percy were standing on the upper deck of the Argo II, swords in hand. They'd just given Percy the grand tour of the ship, or at least what they'd seen of it in the day-and-a-half they'd been onboard.

Now, the trio was sparring.

At the moment it was Percy v.s. Frank, and the Greek was winning.

Frank was much better with a bow and some arrows than he was with the short Roman sword Hazel had handed him.

The grip was unfamiliar, the balance off. He wasn't as experienced with this particular weapon, and Percy had been with Riptide for nearly five years.

In short: Frank stood no chance.

He lunged and stabbed, as he'd been taught to do in Legion training, but Percy spun to the side, avoiding the blow. Frank shot past his friend, and stumbled to a stop about one foot from the ship's rail. He straightened up, and turned back around to face his opponent. But Percy wasn't there...

"Hey Zhang!" He heard the familiar call to his right, and spun around.

Percy leapt forward and struck, Frank barely had time to block the strike and save himself from being skewered.

"What happened to no maiming?!" he complained.

"Oops!" Percy grinned, then flicked his wrist and Frank's _gladus_ went flying. "Give up?"

The Son of Mars rose his hands in defense. "I give up, you got me."

The Greek lowered his sword, then tapped the pen cap to it, reducing it to its non-magical form.

"Nice match" Percy said, and stuck out his hand to shake.

"My turn!" Hazel called.

Frank groaned, this was going to be a long night. Especially if he had to spar against his girlfriend.

**Short and sweet? I dunno. xD Anyone care to tell me what they thought? I had a few more ideas, but tomorrow is Monday. Monday is a school day and an update day. Since it's night-time, I have to go get ready for bed, goodnight! Please review, sorry for the OC ness, and the shortness!**

**ANONS**

**Sri- You reviewed chapter 7, so you might not see this for a while, but thank you for the review! Im glad you like the story, I try to make it flow and whatnot but I don't know how well that's going... As for that line... Inspiration from one of the many fanfics I read... Can't remember which one... Think it was SearScare? I was laughing while typing it! :D**

**~La**


	23. XXII Percy

**Thursday = Update! Even if it's later than usual... Sorry for that, but I had a TON of homework tonight! Okay, well I'll get to the chapter soon but I have to gab for a bit. I just got a bit freaked out when I realised that I have about 39 days to finish this. Doing the math, that's 11 more updates. O.o I think I might have to increase the speed of my updates again... Which means more chapters for you, more weekend typing for me, and generally less of a life! :D I'm perfectly fine with that, but I need to be sure that I have at least 5 faithful readers out there. So please: REVIEW! Now for the chappy.  
Shoutout to Anonymous Reviewer; Emily! Thanks for reviewing almost every chapter in two days, you're awesome!  
Disclaimer: I am not Rick Riordan, nor a worker at Disney Hyperion Publisher. ME NO OWN!  
Shoutout to my NCIS-fan friend who wanted to be in the disclaimer but OH WELL! :P**

**XXII**

**Percy**

He was completely immersed in the plan. Every night for the past three days, Percy, Frank, and Hazel would sneak up from the Infirmary to the deck. Then they would spar until Frank's watch beeped; 4:15am. At that point they would slip back downstairs, quickly but silently.

Percy spent the days catching up on sleep and daydreaming for that night. When he would get to get up off the bed and _do_ something. After Will left for his cabin, (which he'd finally decided to move into at the insistance of all seven demigods,) Percy would sit up and stare at the door, waiting for his two friends to come get him, signalling the coast was clear and everyone was asleep.

When they eventually got around to the duels, it was around midnight. That gave them four hours of brutal work-out/training, and also plenty of time to talk about the quest.

Needless to say, it was moving incredibly slow. No monsters, no threats, nothing. And yet, they were slowly making their way across the ocean.

Sure, they had to stop and refeul, which allowed 7/8 of the demigods (guess who was st0uck in bed during this?) to sightsee. Whatever, it gave them a break from the ship, right? It was taking too long. They should've reached Rome _days_ ago, before the Giant Army beat them there and provided a super-solid defense for Gaia, and mass-panic for the mortals.

From what Frank and Hazel told him, Percy was betting they were already too late.

"Why doesn't Leo just speed this thing up? I mean, it can go faster than one-hundred-and-seventy miles per hour, right?" he asked as their swords clashed together.

"It could, but he said that it'd be risky, and might wear the engine. It was only supposed to take us a thirty-seven hours... But all those stops put us back a lot..."

_No kidding_.

Their swords were locked, celestial bronze on imperial gold, and it was pretty close. They were both pressing against one another, trying to over-power the opponent.

Good thing Frank had found himself a more suitable sword, or Percy would have won long ago. Right now, the Son of Mars was barely holding his ground. Percy suddenly grinned mischievously, and took a quick step back. Frank stumbled forward, the pressure he'd been putting into the weapon pulling him down. He dropped his sword, and stuck out his hands to catch himself. Before he could get back to his feet, the glowing point of Riptide was pointed at his neck.

"I win." Percy said simply, and capped the weapon again. He stepped back and held put a hand to his friend, who took it.

Hazel rushed over to the two boys and flicked Percy on the arm. "That was really dangerous Percy, what if he hadn't caught himself? He would've been impaled on your sword!"

By the look on Frank's face, Percy guessed that his friend didn't know what she was talkig about either.

"Impaled?" Percy asked, "Hazel, I didn't have my sword at his neck until _after_ he was done falling."

Frank, thankfully, nodded his agreement.

"Oh well, as long as you're sure... My turn!" Hazel said, and beamed at her boyfriend. Frank groaned, and Percy had to chuckle. Watching them fight was _really_ interesting. The younger girl showed no mercy, but Frank seemed almost scared to fight her, as if he had the ability to hurt her... Well he did, but Percy knew that he never would.

So he did Frank a favour. "Hey Hazel, you haven't sparred with me yet, wanna give it a try?" he asked.

She looked uncertain for a moment, but then covered it up and smiled back at him. "Sure, just try not to kill me please!"

"Why would I? You're my friend, no worries." And he uncapped his sword again.

They circled for about three seconds before she leapt at him and tried to get in a good hit to the shoulder.

Oh well, he was fast himself, and he knew that she'd try something like that. As cool as she may be, Hazel was Roman. Warrior, and not particularly strategic all the time. She was taught to act first, whereas Percy was told to assess an opponents strengths and weaknesses, and then launch the major attack.

Hazel's weakness? Her left leg. She had the good sense to cover her left side, even though it wasn't her sword arm. If he were to get anywhere near the right side of her body, she'd go on defense and possibly shish ka bob him. Her left leg, however, was unprotected and if she moved too fast to the left she'd stumble.

He feinted right, and struck the flat end of his sword to the area behind the knee. It worked, and she fell.

He and Frank both ran to her at the same time, just as she was sitting up and rubbing her leg.

"Well Percy, I think you're definitely getting back into practise..." She mumbled and took Frank's hand. He pulled her up, and frowned at Percy for a second before grinning.

"Oh, he completely whooped your butt, Haze. I mean, it was just the one move and the match was over. Seriously Perce, I don't know why Will keeps you in bed all day, if you're moving like that already." He laughed.

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

"I don't know either, but he'll be waking up soon, so we better head back..." Percy said and grimaced. Another day on bedrest? Not particularly what he was looking forward to but at least he had these nights.

"Yeah, but Percy? Do you ever get visitors during the day anymore? I mean, besides the couple of times that we get a chance to come down?" Hazel asks.

"Yep, Annabeth has been good about coming and keeping me company for a few hours. Sometimes Piper goes with her..." He has no idea why Annabeth still comes, he'd thought that after she knew the truth about who stabbed him... She wouldn't want anything to do with him. It was just the way she worked... But apparently Annabeth didn't stick to her morals when it came to him.

"Good, It's nice to know that you don't just have to sit there all day with no one to talk to."

"I'm fine, now come _on_ before we get caught! Have a good day, you two!" He called and sprinted back to the medical ward.

**ABCDEFG**

"Percy, why are you so tired all the time nowadays? Don't you _sleep_ at night?" Annabeth asked, her grey eyes boring into his green ones.

"_Yes _I sleep! Gods, why wouldn't I?" he replied, yawning hugely. He'd made it back to the bed ten minutes before Will came in, and had had just enough time to reguate his breathing again.

His girlfriend's eyes narrowed.

"Honestly Annabeth, I'm fine. It's just part of being a teenage boy, plus a demigod. We get tired." He reassured her.

"I hope you aren't lying to me Percy, that could result in something not-so-pretty." She threatened, then slapped a hand over her mouth. "Oh gods, Percy not like-"

He chuckled, "It's alright Annabeth, you didn't mean it when-" he stopped suddenly and glanced at Piper who was sitting next to Annabeth and playing with a stethoscope.

"It's alright Percy, I already know... Annabeth told me before, why d'you think she brings me here with her every day?" Piper said, sounding slightly amused.

"You told her?!" Percy exclaimed, and she stared at her hands.

"Well I had to tell someone.." She muttered.

"I'm not mad, Annabeth. I just didn't expect you to tell anybody, that's all." He soothed, and sat up to hug her. _Oops._

"Perseus Jackson you lie down!" she yelled, and pulled away.

She was a little over-protective of him since that incident in New Rome...

"But I'm _fine!_" he whined, laying back onto his sheets.

"If you were fine then Will wouldn't have you on bedrest, and you wouldnt be on the verge of comatose constantly!" she lectured.

He saw Piper stifling laughter, and Annabeth glared at her.

Luckily, just then Will came in.

"Sorry Annabeth, but it's already nine o'clock. Percy needs to sleep, and so do you... The lack of monster attacks is pretty suspicious, if we get attacked soon you have to be ready." He told her.

Piper got up, "'Night Annabeth, 'night boys." And she turned from the room.

"Goodnight Percy, try to get some sleep, alright?" Annabeth said and kissed his forehead.

"Yes ma'am." He muttered and pretended to fall asleep.

He heard Will and Annabeth bid eachother goodnight, and then her leave. Will fiddled around for a bit before following her out, turning off the light on his way. Percy sat back up and began his wait. An hour and a half later, the door creaked open and Frank stuck his head in.

"C'mon! We get a head start tonight, it's only eleven!" he hissed, and Percy got up and ran out the door.

**ABCDEFG**

They reached the deck about three minutes later, but it wasn't to the usual undisturbed and perfect night. Instead...

"PERCY!" Annabeth shrieked.

**Well I must say, that was a not-so-dramatic-and-yet-suspenseful cliffhanger, if I were to rate it. :D Longer-than-usual-by-a-lot chapter too! YAYAYAY! I'm hoping for 1,500+ words, but we shall see. Don't forget to REVIEW! Please pretty please let me know what you think! Question: Who is your godly parent? Mine is Hermes! But I'm no thief, I like the messenger/traveller/jack-of-all-trades perspective of him, it's so annoying when people just think he's a thief! Okay, babbling again... **

**ANONS**

**emily: Hehe before I start responding, thanks again for the mass amount of reviews that almost take up a whole page! :D Most of them made me laugh for about five minutes straight, even if they were entirely random... Actually, I think that's why I loved them so much! :D Okay: R1- you kinda got the Mark of Athena prophecy right... And if Annabeth isn't the seventh demigod then I'm going to go make a twitter and send angry tweets to Rick Riordan until the next book comes out. R2- I'm glad you think it's not boring :) R3- THIS ONE had me cracking up... Reyna is supposed to be a bit cold... Weakness is not an option for a Roman, and Annabeth was being weak at that point! As for Octavion... He slaughters PANDAS! He's 98% evil in my mind... Even though with the way Rick works he'll probably end up good. Thankyou! Glad you like it! R4- yes they're related! And I did the math, great great great great great nephew. R5- Oh my gods, he's horrible! R6- They're adorable, it's true. Personally, I think that both Frank and Hazel are going to dei because Thanatos told them that he'd see them both again under less pleasant circumstances. I have other death-theories, but make an account and message me and I'll tell you. Not enough room here! R7- :D A sense of humor? Nice. I come up with so many supposed-to-be-funny things, it's nice to know they make some people smile! R8- where did that come from? I only cried for Beckendorf and Silena... Not Zoe because I had no idea what was happening at first! And Luke I teared up but didnt cry... R8- Oh gods, I love Thalia so much, she's one of my top 3 fave characters! But no POV for her yet... I dunno if I ever will... She'd be tricky! And yeah, they're dating... R9- Hahaha I don't care whether its Jasper or Jeyna. Whatever Rick says, goes. But I vote Jeyna... :P R10- I always call Annabeth 'Anna' in my mind because Ace got it stuck like that -.- **

**Guest (it says pm at the bottom...?): I love them too! Frank = me. LITERALLY. I'm glad you like how I capture them! Of course I'll keep writing! I'm doing well, thankyou! Take care!**

**avocran: Thanks for being a constant reviewer! I'm glad you think so :)**

**THANKS SO MUCH FOR ALL THE REVIEWS EVERYONE! SEE YOU SOON! ~LA**


	24. XXIII Percy

**Rainy days are perfect for typing a story! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Can somebody please get me a job at Disney Hyperion Publishers so that I can kinda-own PJO? That'd be AMAZING! Sadly, for now I don't own anything. Aww! :(**

**XXIII**

_**PERCY!**_

_Styx. How could she possibly know?_

"Uh... Hey, Annabeth!" he said feebly, taking a step back from her.

"What in gods' names do you think you're _doing?!"_ she whisper-shrieked.

"T-training..." He stammered, and backed up more. Wow, his girlfriend was scary when she was concerned. Her eyes were stormier than ever, and she was glaring at him like crazy. Her daggar was drawn and although she held it at her side, she looked ready to gut him like a fish. No pun intended, of course.

"Training. In the middle of the night. When you're injured. Seriously, Seaweed Brain?" she asks, sounding more tired and exasperated than angry... _Now._

"Wise Girl, I'm _fine_! Will fixed me up, all fine and dandy. I just need to get out of that room and train! We're going into a war, against the Earth itself, and if I'm out of practise I won't be making it too far now will I?"

"Can't you just wait until Will deems you fit to participate? Come on Percy, back to bed."

"No. I'll probably die anyways, but I'd like to put up a fight before-hand. If you don't mind? I want to stand a chance against Gaia when the time comes."

She sighed, exasperated with him. "Can't it wait a few days?"

_"No."_

"Well fine then, if you won't let me stop you, then let me help. I'm sure Frank and Hazel here are both good fighters, but honestly you'll need more of a challenge, and I know you're moves better than anyone. Want to spar?"

_Whoa. Did not see _that _one coming! But..._ "Hades yes! Knew you'd see it my way, Wise Girl." He said, grinning at her. Then he uncapped his pen and stepped forward, into range.

"Shut you're mouth, Seaweed Brain. I still don't like this, but someone needs to make sure you don't get hurt." Then she looks at Hazel and Frank who're still standing awkwardly in the same spot, dumbfounded expressions on their faces. Well, they're not used to the way Annabeth works. "No offense you two, but Percy here has a knack for getting into trouble and it takes alot to help him."

"Uh... It- it's okay. Anyways, we've noticed. Has he told you anything about our quest to Alaska yet?" Hazel put in.

Percy smacked his forehead with his left hand, so he could keep a good grip on his sword. Wow, that was not how he wanted her to find out...

"Actually, I haven't gotten around to that story, Hazel..." He said. Schist, Annabeth was going to murder him.

"A quest Percy? You went on a quest. And did something dangerous, apparently? And then you didn't even tell me?" Annabeth inquired.

"Er- yes?" he tried.

"Seaweed Brain." She muttered under her breath, and lunged.

He was almost caught off guard, for a moment he'd forgotten that they were sparring. Luckily, her slice at his ribs was blocked mid-way by Riptide. Good thing his reflexes were so good... He flicked her daggar away, and she nearly dropped it. She stumbled a bit, but quickly regained her balance and straightened up. He kept his sword in a defensive position, and waited for her to act first. She sized him up, and lunged again. He raised his sword to brace for the impact, but she swerved and ran past him. Then, she spun around and held the blade to the back of his neck.

"I win." She stated simply.

He took half a step forward, and turned to face her. Riptide was raised to her stomach, and her daggar was now inches from his throat.

"Wouldn't be too sure about that." He replied, grinning.

She sheathed her daggar. "Fair enough," then she turned to Hazel and Frank, "either of you want to spar? We could do pairs..."

Their faces paled, but being Romans (even if they didn't train at the Wolf House) they would never admit to it. Show no fear and all...

"Sure, boys versus girls?" Frank asked, though Percy noticed that his voice was half an octave higher.

"Sure thing Zhang, lets go." Percy said, and headed over a few meters so the girls could have their space. "Ready?"

"Yep."

And they fought some more.

** ABCDEFG **

Annabeth made it her mission to walk him back to the infirmary that morning, whilst Hazel and Frank went back to their cabins. She could always say she'd come down for an early visit.

"This is why you've been so tired lately?" she asked.

"Yeah..." He yawned back.

"Seaweed Brain. What if a monster attacked while you three were on deck all alone? Or if you suddenly passed out from exaughstion or pain?"

"If a monster attacked at night, we'd all be screwed anyways. More so if no one was awake to stop it. And I'm fine. Sleep all day, take my meds, no tiredness and no pain. And Annabeth, Hazel and Frank are stronger than you give them credit for. They took care of me for a week afterall. Actually, they're probably as good at fighting as the campers at Camp Halfblood. If not more so because of their extra parent-enduced powers."

"Maybe so, I still don't know them well enough to judge. Plus, I don't think anyone is ever going to be capable of keeping _you_ safe."

"Hey, you did a pretty good job with it all those years. Both of them saved my life countless times when we went to save Thanatos."

"Is this your mysterious quest again? When are you planning on telling me about your idotic stunts? You know I'll just find out someway..."

"In the morning."

"It is the morning."

"Later in the morning. Cut me some slack, I'm tired!"

"Well we're back at the infirmary now, we can both get some sleep before story-time."

And they were back, pristine white walls and all. Leo really out-did himself on trying to make it look like a real hospitol, so much so that it even smelled like one, and they didn't use half the supplies mortals did. It all made Percy feel trapped.

They stepped through the big opaque glass doors.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me..." Percy muttered. _Two in one night? Seriously?_

_"Percy Jackson what in the name of the gods were you doing out of bed?!"_

**Any ideas? Since it's not obvious enough, right? Heeheehee evilness. Mmmkay well the idea of more updates is a big no no. I just can't, between schoolwork and clubs and my sanity and my day or two a week that I hangout with actual human beings... Im soooo sorry! :'O Please don't hate me forever! I'm sorry for the shorty mc short short chappy, I know it wasn't particularly eventful either. And I decided on something. As long as Rick's Mark of Athena doesn't influence mine too much, I will continue this one. And then after it's over, I'll start a new one with ONE-TWO updates a week up until Book Four that I will not name because I've heard several different rumors. :P Okay? Okay. Now:**

**ANONS**

**Beadlesbabe: Hey! I was wondering why I hadn't heard from you! :3 I woulda just PMd your account, but hey Im lazy too. I'll go look it up! I don't use Youtube or watch TV much, so I have no idea what your name means, or what Psyche is... *Dont kill me! O.o* nah, you didn't review the last few chappies, hehe. Thanks! Gad you thought so! And yeah, my characters are getting very OC... I'm scared. My writing style changes with my mood, that's why I barely write in my 3 main Original Stories... I need to be in the right mood or else they get weird! Welcome me back? Haha I've been back, silly! xD Really good writing? Psch, nah. WOOT ATHENA! If only I didn't look so much like my mortal mother... Oh well, I love Hermes too! It suits me amazingly. Thanks for the praise on my cliffy! I take pride in em! :D**

**avocran: You noticed that too? YAY! I just was being silly and forgot. hahaha YAY ANNABETH FTW! Sorry about the not-updating-more thing... *Dont kill me!* I'm good with school, thanks for asking! Hope you're doing well, and enoying life!**

**Celty98: It's okay, I understand! You know my update days :P I'll stay on-time as much as I can! **

**emily: Pssst, just to clarify, you're Emily5637 right?**

**Thanks for all the reviews, sorry for those of you with accounts if I didn't get back to you... I lose track! O.o Take care, La**


	25. XXIV Percy

**Happy 24th chapter! Enjoy!  
Disclaimer: 33 days! YIPPE! Obviously, if I'm this excited for Mark of Athena, I am not Rick Riordan. No suing.**

**XIV**

**Percy**

The one good thing about Will catching Percy was... Well at least now he wasn't on constant bedrest. That left him with more time to train, and just hangout. Right now, Annabeth was giving him a tour of the Argo II.

Currently, she was showing him her cabin aboard the ship.

It was impressing, practical, and very predictable. The wooden walls were painted silvery-grey, the bunk along the far wall from the door was adorned with sleek silver and white bedding, with the owl pillow that Percy had gotten Annabeth for her birthday (along with a silver owl necklace that he noticed was hanging at her neck.)

Also, there was a huge desk, crowded with blueprints, maps, writing utensils, books, a dictionary, scratch paper, and everything else your average Daughter of Athena would need/want. His girlfriend had a small set of drawers dedicated to clothes, which was pushed up against the foot of the bed. Percy noticed a lack of advanced technology, which had been so common in Cabin 6 before Percy had disappeared. No SmartBoards, no scientific computers, nothing. Except the one Scientific Calculator that laid on the desk. Not that he guessed Annabeth would need it, of course.

"Ta da. My room..." She told him blandly.

"It's nice! Looks like your cabin at Camp... Very logical and whatnot."

"Yeah I guess, you wanna see your room?"

"Sure, why not?"

"Kay, come on then."

He wasn't sure why she was being so moody, Will couldn't have chewed her out _that_ bad earlier that morning, could he? They walked down the very long hallway, Annabeth's room was way at one end... And apparently Percy's was on the other.

Annabeth filled him in, "Boys on one side, girls on the other, Hedge in the middle. They felt it necessary to keep our rooms farthest apart for some reason."

"Gee, wonder why. Ah well okay. Lets see this spectacular room you wanted to show me so badly." He teased, and opened the door to find a barren room. Wow, _that_ made him feel special...

"The ship adjusts itself to accomodate us. The only thing Leo couldn't figure out was the food dillema, therefore the Camps had to supply it. Your room should be all decorated by the end of the hour. And no, you can't change rooms. Leo designed it so that each room only responds to one person, and all the spare rooms are accessed by remote control until we get new people. If we ever get any..."

"So I can do whatever I want with this space?"

"Pretty much. Although, some things are off-limits. You'll figure it out as you go. For now, just imagine your dream room."

He did. It had blue walls, and looked otherwise nearly exactly as his room in his mom's Manhatten apartment had. Oh gods he missed home so much right now...

The only difference to this room compared to the original was that this one had the shield Tyson made him after their Sea of Monsters expedition, and the fountain Tyson made for the Poseidon cabin at Camp Halfblood.

Annabeth was wrong for once in her life; the room sprung into shape within ten minutes.

"Looks like your room back at your mom's place." Annabeth stated.

"That was the idea."

"I would have thought you would ask for a flatscreen with a PS3 or something... You didn't, did you?"

"No, hence why they aren't here now. But great idea!"

"It won't work, technology in the rooms has to stay basic for Leo and the ship's sake. The ship will fail if you overwork its brain, but the engine is sturdy enough to run non-stop for a year."

"Lame. Is that why you don't have a SmartBoard in your room? Is there any cool technology here? I mean, even Camp had a Wii..."

"There's a small game room on the second floor. And yes, that's why I didn't have my 'Board."

"Makes sense. What else is on this ship?"

"I'll show you, come on."

So they left, and went back to the tour.

Annabeth showed him the ship from the fourth floor up. She said that the fifth floor was Leo-access only. Anyone else would suffocate or burn up from the heat.

Sounded pleasant.

Anyways, the fourth floor was all the cabins. There were also two staircases, one leading to the third floor, and one like a fire escape, going from floor to floor straight to the most vital places (infirmary, kitchen, game room, and the boys end of the hallway.)

Third floor held the game room, Roman style bath house (man was Percy glad Jason had remembered that and included it in the plans), washing room, and training room. The training room was huge, and amazing, and 100 percent armed with awesome.

Second floor was the kitchen, dining room, pool (Hades YES!), and another hang-out place.

First floor was the infirmary, and the armoury. Which Percy found hilariously ironic. Seriously, a place to arm yourself to hurt stuff, and then a place to heal people and creatures, back-to-back.

Then there was the deck which looked just like every other part of the ship, only more heavily armed with cannons and such. War trireme, right?

By the time the tour ended, it had gone from being mid-afternoon to evening, and Leo had made what he called 'Uncle Leo's Tacos'. All Percy knew was that they were very _good_.

After that, he was exaughsted, so while everyone else went to play a game of Scrabble (which Percy figured would be hilarious to watch, and would probably end in the only non-dyslexic demigod winning... Meaning Frank.), he said goodnight and walked down to his cabin.

He fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow, and had no dreams.

He was also awoken two hours later to a girl's terrified scream. Oh gods, it never ended, did it?

**Yes, it was Will. No, I could not think of what to do with it without dragging the story more. I can't afford (nor do I want) to do that. So, skip ahead and WHA LA! Tour :) Hope you enjoyed, and hope you review! Seriously people, it's not hard. Press the button, type a few words (or a lot if you want to be a pegasus and be amazing!), and send. Make my days a little brighter, why don't you? **

**ANONS**

**avocran: Sorry for disappointing you, I felt like being blantantly obvious just for the heck of it. Teehee those are the only reasons I dont hunt down Rick... I want the real book! But nah, if I do then we won't get that book, huh? Im touched that you like this story well enough to consider that though! Don't worry, I wont stop updating. Im splendid, thank you! Time between school and writing is spent reading and hanging out with friends, plus I don't really watch T.V. much. Sorry! But I'll take your word for it. Thanks for reviewing!**

**~La**


	26. XXV Piper

**Happy Labor Day! But I'm not updating on Labor Day... Hm... Oh well! Sorry for the late post, Ive been busy and grounded and such. This is ending soon, I swear. It is gonna zoom by, and the next fanfic will be entirely different and better (I hope)  
Disclaimer: I wish I owned anything Percy Jackson related, then I would know about Mark of Athena already! .**

**XXV**

**Piper**

Crud, she was screwed. The monster had just popped out of nowhere and attacked her, and no one was around. They'd all gone to bed an hour ago, after Annabeth and Frank had tied at Scrabble, with 97 points each.

And she had stayed back, which would now probably get her injured, at the least. She scream in spite of herself.

The snake-man with the sword was huge. He looked almost like a giant, and yet he wasn't like any she'd seen so far. About ten feet in stature, with a gruesome and scarred face, mop of greasy black and green hair, and pet boa constrictor around his neck. The weapon was a mixture of Celestial Bronze, Stygian Iron, and Steel.

"I am Chrysaor!" he bellowed, fowl breath settling over Piper like an unpleasant and stinky blanket.

Chrysaor? She didn't remember him from the myths she and her dad had studied. Could he perhaps be Roman? She shook herself out of that thought. It didn't matter, all she needed right now was a way to kill the creature, without dying herself. It was beginning to seem impossible.

Until Percy charged up the staircase. Oh thank the gods for it being right outside his door...

"Piper?" he called to her in confusion. "What the Hades is going on?"

"This thing just appeared! He says his name is Chrysaor, but I never heard of him!" she yelled back. The giant was advancing, although it was painfully slow.

"'Course he did." Percy muttered, "Can't have peace for too long right? We are demigods afterall. C'mon, lets hurry and kill it. I'm tired."

Okay, how in Hades could he be so calm right now? There was a giant advancing on them, in the middle of the night when everyone was asleep, and they didn't know who he even was or how to defeat him.

Then again, this was the great Percy Jackson that all of Camp HalfBlood loved and admired, except maybe the Ares cabin. He'd been going on quests each year since he was twelve. Percy was pretty used to it by now, she supposed.

_Wait._ Chrysaor... The name sounded fami- Oh gods.

"Percy! Be careful, this is a kid of Medusa and Poseidon. Your half-brother, I guess." She warned him quietly. Good thing he was still next to her.

Chrysaor. No one knew for sure what he looked like, some said he was a flying hog, just as his brother Pegasus was a flying horse. Others believed he was a giant.

Couldn't have been the animal, could it?

"Half-brother? My dad had a kid with that gorgon? Zeus, he's gotten better taste over the years. Thank gods too, Medusa is evil!" Percy said, sounding confused and teasing at the same time. Interesting combination, that.

"Yeah, Pegasus' brother too. Now c'mon we _do_ need to kill him still."

"Right."

And they charged back, having no plan, nor any clue as to how to defeat the giant. Percy lunged for the gut since he was taller, Piper went for his calf. Both their blows bounced off, mereley scratching the beast.

_Oh that was so unfair! _

Chrysaor laughed. "Puny demigods, you cannot harm me. I am an immortal! The sea heals me, for my father is the mighty Poseidon! I shall offer you as sacrifices to him, for I am truly his favored son!"

Percy scowled, "What is it with my monster-siblings and thinking they're Dad's favorite? And if he's working for Gaia, why would he offer us to a god?"

Piper looked at him inquiringly. "I'll ask about that first part later, as for the second, I have no idea. How can we kill him though? That's our priority right now."

"Right, sorry. Uhm, if the sea heals him, then we need to get him dry and away from the ocean. Which means-"

Piper had already caught on. "JASON! LEO! ABOVE DECK _NOW!_" she scream. They were usually pretty light sleepers, they'd hear her. She hoped.

Meanwhile, she and Percy braced themselves for the looming attack.

**Shush. Its short and no way to repay you all after skipping Monday, but Ive been staring at this screen for half an hour and I CANNOT continue with Piper. Not after that last sentence... So I will upload another chapter either today or tomorrow. Depends when I get it done. Please, please review people! I love em, they make me smile, gimme advice or critique or praise, dont just ask me to update... Love yas all to the pit of my heart and that soo sounded creepy... Off to write another chappie, adios! ~La**

**avocran: Firstly, thanks for being consistant with your reviews, and for writing the good stuff. *applauds you* Now- glad you liked that little detail! It was my single stroke of brilliance. Dialogue... Yep, I got a few complaints for that, it was sucky. Is it better this time around? Ive started reading and writing actively again, so I hope so! And yea, part of it was Annabeths mood. Well Im splendid as ever and my weekend was great! How 'bout you? Have a magnificent weekend! **


	27. XXVI Jason

**Second chapter today FTW! Hopefully this is longer... *crossed fingers* Sorry for the failed fight scenes.  
Disclaimer: Somebody. Anybody. I can't wait 25 days, hours, and minutes. MOA HURRY! :O Me no own (obviously)**

**XXVI**

**Jason**

Piper's frantic scream broke through his dream; his extremely pleasant dream. He was still getting some memories back, and these seemed to be the sweetest, and most dangerous ones yet. The Reyna ones, where they'd been together.

"JASON! LEO! ABOVE DECK _NOW!_" Piper scream through his dream.

His eyes flashed open and he jolted up. What in Hades was going on now?! He knew the silence from the monsters had been too good to last, but in the middle of the night? Seriously? He leapt out of bed, pulled on a shirt and shoes, and ran to get Valdez.

Leo was already waiting for him in the hallway.

"Was that Piper I just heard screaming for us?" his friend asked, groggily.

"Uhm, yeah I think. Now c'mon, it's probably a monster." Jason replied dimly, only half-awake himself. _Why the middle of the night?! _

The two friends raced up the staircase, and onto the deck. The sight that met them was terrifying! A nasty face was sneering down at Piper and Percy as it advanced, connected to the huge body of a giant. His hair was Snape-worthy, it was so greasy, and his boa constrictor hissed and slithered around his neck.

"HEY GREASE BALL!" Jason yelled, desperate to turn its attention away from his friends.

"Jason use your powers! He heals with the sea!" Piper called to him, nervous tension cracking her voice.

The wind. He had to fly the monster away from the sea, and kill it without water which meant... "Leo, grab my waist and hold on tight." Jason said so only Valdez could hear.

"What? No man, no way am I grabbing your waist!" Leo protested, panic-stricken.

"Valdez. Now." Jason growled.

"Fine, whatever you say, Sparky."

Jason zapped him for that, _that's right Valdez, and don't you forget it, _he thought. Leo grabbed on tight and Jason ran up to the beast, grabbed its huge meaty hand in both of his own, and took off flying.

It was difficult, have you ever carried a thousand pound slime-ball, and your skinny-bu-muscled-best-friend one-hundred feet into the air?

Not exactly your average workout, but Jason was seriously considering making it one.

Finally, they were high enough. "Leo, on the count of three I need you to burn this monster as badly as you can, alright? No arguments."

Leo opened his mouth to protest, but Jason was already counting.

"_One... Two... THREE!"_

On "three", Leo shot a flame from his hand to the giant's flesh. The creature howled in pain as his skin blackened and crumbled. Soon, he was reduced to a pile of gold dust and immortal _ichor_. All that remained was the snake, which Jason did _not_ feel like caring for, so he threw it into the ocean.

Then, he slowly lowered Leo and himself back to the Argo II.

"Right," Percy muttered when they landed. "Thanks for that, but I'm really tired, hope you don't mind if I go catch some Z's?"

Jason grinned at his cousin, he was so odd sometimes, "Nah Perce, go sleep."

"Thanks," Percy yawned, and headed back downstairs.

"Thanks, you two." Piper smiled, nervously. "Thought for sure he was going to kill us."

Jason grimaced, that would have been horrible. Piper and Percy both dead because of a stupid mid-night monster that had taken Leo and him all of ten minutes to kill. Piper dead... He shuddered slightly. "Piper, we wouldn't let that happen."

"It would have, if I hadn't scream for you on time." She countered, stubbornly.

"Alright, well you two have your little debate, I'm following Percy backto bed. Too early for the flame dude." Leo muttered tiredly. "Take care of yourelf, Beauty Queen."

Then he too went back down the stairs.

Jason took Piper's hand, and gave it a squeeze. "Pipes, you know I'd never let anything happen to you. I'd bring you back from the Underworld if I had to, but no way are you just going to leave us like that. Ever."

She peered up at him uncertaintly. "You mean that?"

Gods her kaleidoscope eyes looked pretty in the starlight... And the breeze was curling her hair around her face at just the right angles... She was beautiful. Jason suddenly didn't feel like answering, so he pulled her in for a kiss instead.

When they pulled apart, he grinned slyly at her. "Did that answer your question?" he asked.

"Not really, no. But I think I get the point... And that was a _really_ good kiss."

"Well we can both agree on that. Do you want to help me watch, or are you tired too?" he questioned, sitting down in the built-in lookout chair Leo had installed before they'd left Camp HalfBlood.

"Both." She responded, "although, I think I'll stay with you." She sat in his lap, and he wrapped his arms around her, effectively pulling her closer to him. She laid her head back against his chest, and they watched the night sky for a while.

Gods, this reminded Jason of his dreams/memories. The ones with Reyna. Where the two of them would pull out sleeping bags and just lie under the stars some nights, between the two praetorial homes, talking about everything and anything.

Jason loved Piper, but now he was remembering his love for Reyna as well. Schist was about to get complicated.

For now, though, Jason decided to just enjoy the moment, resting his chin on her head, and cuddling her in that chair. Pretty soon, he realised she was asleep, and he smiled. She should have just gone to bed... She _was_ really tired.

Oh well, this was nice too.

Eventually, the sky lightened and turned rosy pink. Jason squinted and-

"Land! You guys! I see land!" he called downstairs, waking Piper up. Oops.

Who cares? They had finally reached Italy.

**Toldja it's gonna be going fast! Next time, I'll add details, but I really have to get ready for bed now, so it was suckier. Hope you enjoyed! Happy Thursday-that-feels-like-Friday! I despise these, they confuse me too much. :P ~La**


	28. XXVII Piper

**OH MY GODS I LOVE YOU ALL SO FREAKING MUCH! :D 121 reviews? Made. My. Day. Thankyou sooo sooo soooo much! heehee enjoy :)  
Disclaimer: 22 DAYS 22 DAYS 22 DAYS 22 DAYS 22 DAYS! YAY! I WISH I OWNED IT ALREADY!**

**XXVII**

**Piper**

"Land?" she muttered, still half asleep. Why had Jason been yelling about land? It was everywhere, afterall. Then she remembered. The next land they were supposed to be reaching from the Argo II was Rome, Italy. They'd finally made it!

"Yeah, Piper! Come on, get up, let's go see." Jason said excitedly, propping her up so she was in a straighter position. She rolled to her feet, and stumbled a little before Jason put a steady hand on her shoulder to righten her.

"Thanks," she said gratefully.

"Anytime," he responded and led her to the rail so they could look out at the sea and supposed land. Sure enough, it was there. A low, greyish lump of land lying dead-ahead and looking extremely inviting after the weeks of being on an airship.

It would have been better if she couldn't see the miniscule glowing reddish-orange glimmers that must've been mass fires. Or hear faint roars every now and again that could only be the giants.

Jason reached down with the hand that wasn't holding Piper up, and used it to take her hand. "Hey, one way or another this is going to be over soon. And we're demigods, our luck may not be good but we're on a winning streak. Good always prevails, right?"

"Yeah, yeah I guess." She said, "It's just... All those people, Jas. All having their lives changed drastically by something they don't understand, and can't even _see_ properly. It's horrible."

"I know, but it will end soon."

Just then, the rest of the seven and Will came, tripping up the staircase. Only Annabeth and Will appeared to be _truly_ awake, but Piper couldn't blame the others for being tired; it was only about five in the morning.

"Land?" Annabeth asked, much clearer and more sure than Piper had been able to manage a few minutes before.

"Yeah, but look, it's started." Jason responded, sounding distant and slightly... scared?

"Then we need to hurry." Frank said, becoming more alert. Well, this was supposed to be his area of expertise; the battle, and duty, and all... "Leo, do you think you could push the ship faster for a few minutes, just until we reach the land?"

"I could try, but it might mean we have to find a different escape route later. And if anything happens to my ship it'll be on your head, Zhang." Leo warned, and head to the controls. A few moments later the wind whistled by faster, and the land began rushing towards them.

"How fast did you make it go?" Hazel questioned when the Son of Hephaestus returned.

"Oh, not much. I think it's doing ninety miles an hour now? We'll be there soon. Give it say, ten minutes?" he responded, and Piper noticed he was blushing slightly.

She decided not to bring that up, for everyone's sake, but it seemed Leo had a crush.

"Hopefully we make it and don't crash into the ocean." She muttered, loud enough for her friend to hear.

"Don't you dare jinx it!" Leo scolded.

"Hey, I don't know what's so bad about falling into water from a huge height, I've done it before." Percy joked, laughing.

"_Shut up, Percy!"_ They all chanted together, which only made him laugh harder, and reluctantly they all did the same. Pretty soon everyone was grinning like fools, except Annabeth who never took her eyes off the incoming land mass. It was thanks to her that they didn't crash into the ground upon reaching Italy.

**Linebreak**

After the ship was settled down in a huge non-flaming field, the eight demigods gathered near the gang-plank.

"One of us needs to stay," Will started, "to make sure the ship stays safe. Leo's taught me all the controls, and the rest of you have jobs, so I guess that'd leave me."

Annabeth looked thoughtful, "Wait a second, you're the only healer we have. What if one of us gets hurt?"

"You'd be doomed anyways, there won't be time to stop and get healed in the middle of the battle. Seven demigods isn't a lot, and we can't count on reinforcements until Greece anyways. Just bring some ambrosia and nectar, you should be fine."

"I suppose... Are you sure you don't want to come with? The ship isn't in any danger, really."

"No, Annabeth. Will's right, someone has to stay to keep it in check." Frank put in.

Piper thought about that. What could one demigod do if a monster decided to attack, anyways? Will was an incredible archer, but an army of monsters up close would surely defeat him.

"I think he should come help." She said firmly.

They all looked at her, questioningly.

"Why?" Percy asked.

"Because, the seven of us isn't a lot, and having one extra could make loads of difference. Also, then we could divide into equal teams of four, and work like that."

"But what about the ship?" Leo questioned.

"What can one person do for a ship this big? He wouldn't stand a chance. Having a demigod onboard will attract the monsters even more. Scent, remember?"

"She's right." Hazel said quietly, she sounded almost afraid to say this.

"Well I guess I'll go with then?" said Will, uncertaintly.

Jason straightened up, "Makes sense. Who will the groups be?"

Annabeth suddenly looked shy. "Actually, before we go I need to warn you all about something. Ever hear of the Mark of Athena?"

**Dun dun dun! I almost forgot it :( Im very mad at me for not mentioning it before. And for rushing everything after Percy getting hurt. Next time it will be so much more planned, I swear. What do you think the mark is? I was going to make it a tatoo ish thing, but someone else had that. And the real first chapter said it fit in her pocket... Hmm :3 R&R! xD ~La**

**ANONS**

**Guest: Okay, whenever you get to this part (if you do) Yes, yes it is. "Oh" is what alot of my guy friends tell me when they run out of things to say (so a lot of the time), so I put it in here :D**


	29. XXVIII Annabeth

**I started counting down at 162 days... NOW ITS ONLY 18! WOOT! xD Enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: GIVE ME THE FLIBBING MARK OF ATHENA NOW! Uhm... Yeah, I don't own any piece of it. Please, help! **

**XXVIII**

**Annabeth**

She _so_ did not want to do this. Explaining everything her mother had told her about the mark in that dream, weeks ago? Not her idea of a good speech to give right before they went to war. Nonetheless, she had to tell them. Especially when... No, she'd save that thought for now.

She took a deep breath, "Alright, the Mark of Athena is a blessing and a curse that Athena gives to whomever she finds needs it desperately, and is worthy of all the knowledge in the world. She- well she gave it to me a few weeks ago, in the form of a ring. It's to help us with this battle, to help defeat Gaia. It should give me the knowledge and battle strategy skills to get most of us out alive."

She had one hand in her pocket, fiddling with the ring, whilst she looked at Percy. He was looking at her, obviously anticipating the punch. She wished she didn't have one, this wouldn't be easy on him... Even she hadn't accepted it yet, and she'd known for nearly a month.

Finally, Piper spoke up. "So? Annabeth, what's the problem? I mean, you have an easy weapon against Gaia, why was it so necessary to tell us all of a sudden, and why do you look so terrified unless...?"

Annabeth looked at her friend solemnly, pleading for her to understand, to not have to explain. She didn't think the words would be able to leave her mouth, but they did, "The mark drains at my life force, and my soul. It makes me moody and more irritable, soulless and cold. It will either turn me into an all-knowing heartless zombie, or it will kill me, sooner or later."

Just as she expected, Percy looked crushed, instantly. His eyes seemed more pleading than she expected hers did, for different reasons. She just wanted forgiveness, for telling him this news, and for hiding it from him.

"That's why... Oh gods, Annabeth." He said, in a choked voice, "How long did you know?"

"My mother told me about three weeks ago, she said she gave it to me the day we set sail from Camp Halfblood though... So yeah, that's why. I'm _so_ sorry, Percy."

"Isn't there any way to get rid of it? We can find another way to defeat Gaia... We can't do it without you though." Piper asked, and Annabeth noticed that her friend had tears in her eyes.

"No, Athena said that once given, a blessing cannot be taken back. Plus, we'll need this to save the world, that's more important." Annabeth responded.

Percy walked around the circle to her, and pulled her into his arms. "We'll just have to make sure the gods give you a counter-blessing, then. They _are not_ allowed to just kill you like that..."

"No, Perce, Mother said it has to be like this. She said it wasn't easy for her to do it, but she had to. I agree, I have to just bear with it and do my best. Personally, I'm hoping for death over mindless, emotionless zombie, myself. And all a counter-blessing would do is turn me into that zombie. Now come on guys, we need to go fight a war. I only told you this because I didn't want anyone to freak out or try to save me if.. Well if it happens during the fight."

They all winced, and Percy and Piper actually let out small sobs... Oh gods, she didn't want them to take it like this...

Jason straightened up. "She's right... Come on, we better get moving before things get worse."

At least he was taking charge. Percy wasn't going to be much use... He looked like his whole world had just come crumbling down, and that hadn't even started yet! Although, there was a sort of deterined fire in his eyes that Annabeth didn't like the looks of at all. She hoped he wouldn't go risking anything for her... He still had a war to lead.

Eventually, they were all ready to go again, and together they set out to kick some monster butt.

**And... THE END!**

**Nah, that'd be so mean! Like HecateA's ending... Gotta love her writing. If youve never read any... Go look it up NOW! She's incredible! But she destroyed me with the end of her MoA, and if she hadn't started the sequel so soon... :D I was considering making the drive to Canada... HER CLIFFY WAS INTENSE!**

**Okay, Im done ranting.**


	30. XXIX Jason, Percy

**Hallo. Enjoy! :D  
Disclaimer: OH MEE GOODNESS LESS THAN 15 DAYS AND I CANT WAIT BECAUSE I DONT OWN ANYTHING YET! (See what I did there? xD)**

**XXIX**

**Jason**

Picking the leaders for the two teams had been easy. The gods had already told them that Jason and Percy were supposed to lead, so each of them were leading three other demigods (each) and themselves on an impossible mission.

Wonderful. In Jason's group: Leo, because no one else could really handle him; Annabeth, because if anything _did_ happen, no one trusted Percy to stay on-track; and Will, because Annabeth was going to be there.

Three of his friends, and he didn't want anything to go wrong. The universe on the other hand, didn't agree with that. As they walked along the street, they got quite a few odd looks fromm the mortals. It made Jason wonder what they saw, through the Mist.

"Jason look out!" he heard Annabeth shout, then felt Leo push him out of the way.

A second later, a large chunk of stone was lying where he had been. It had fallen from the roof of the nearest store.

"Gaia's messing with us." Annabeth said, looking tense.

"What do you mean? It was just loose stone, it could've happened to anyone." Jason replied, yet he had a bad feeling about it...

"Didn't you feel that earthquake?" Will asked, "It was pretty bad... And that stone should not have slid that far... If anything it should've hit about five feet away from _me_."

"Earthquake? Really? I didn't realise..."

"You were floating above the ground when it happened," said Leo. "You really should've seen the looks on those mortals' faces! Hilarious."

"Leo that's not funny! This is serious, if we're having trouble... The others have stronger sents, for the most part. And that will only attract Gaia and her army more." Annabeth countered.

Well, she had a point. With both Percy and Hazel together, the other group would be nearly irresistable to the monsters.

"We can't worry about that right now... We have to finish this first. Afterwards, we can see who's still alive. Alright?" Jason said, but he was pretty sure that reassured NO one.

Annabeth looked hesitant to let the matter drop, but then he saw her resolve collapse, and the look on her face turned to a solid and neutrally determined one.

"Right, lets hurry. We need to get a move on with this distraction, or else the plan wont work," she said firmly.

Jason nodded in appreciation, and they continued onwards.

**Linebreak! **

About half-an-hour later, they reached the center of the chaos. Fires rose high in the air, billowing out and spreading rapidly. Monsters roamed free, picking on any left-behind mortals, whether they were alive or dead. A hellhound was bounding through piles of ashes, and shadow-travelling every few feet.

All in all, the beasts were partying it up, on the innocent mortals' despair.

A centaur looked upwards, and glared straight at the four of them, before tugging out a conch horn from his belt, and blowing on it. The noise echoed around the streets, and everything fell silent until the only noises left were the crackling of the fire, and the wails of a baby, trapped somewhere in the ruins. Jason felt his heart pang at the noise. If only he had time to save the child... The whole city for that matter.

His target was larger though, they had to save the whole world instead. Soon by the looks of it. The monsters were advancing, the centaur in the lead.

It pained Jason to have to do this, mainly because of Chiron, but he nodded to Will, and his friend fired an arrow. It hit the monster straight in his heart, and a moment later the creature was reduced to fine golden dust.

And that's when all Hades broke loose.

**Percy**

Things didn't start out so great for his group. They broke off from the others, and had to go twice the distance, in the opposite direction, because it would be up to them to cut off the enemy from behind.

They ran about three-quarters of a mile, before Hazel tripped on a tree limb, and fell hard to the ground. She may have been alright, had she not hit her head on the hard, stone-paved street; successfully getting knocked out.

"Oh gods... Hazel?!" Frank asked, but to no avail.

Percy, Frank, and Piper all stopped at once, and knelt down beside her, nearly comically in-sync. Frank gathered her up in his arms, and began to lift her up. Percy noticed a gushing stream of blood coming from the back of her skull, right near the crown. He too stood up, walking over to his friends. He brushed back Hazels hair near the source of the blood, and gasped at the injury. Already, the left side of the back of her head was swelling and bruised, and a stone was imbedded in the area. Around the stone, blood was oozing out, matting her hair. Hazel's breathing was becoming steadily shallower, and she was limp as a rag doll in Frank's arms.

Percy brought out his small canteen of nectar, and trickled it on the wound. It healed up slightly, but they would have to take out the stone for any real difference to happen. Percy was afraid to do that, it could make things worse...

"Oh gods... Percy what are we going to do? We need Will... Gah, do _you_ have any idea how to cure a head wound? Because I don't. Aren't they usually fatal?" Frank was rambling on... And on and on and..

"Frank, calm down. We just have to figure something out for now. And keep her alive through the battle. Which means.." Percy didn't want to say it. Didn't want to give Frank the news, or accept it himself. But... "Frank, we have to leave her behind. Somewhere safe and secluded."

"We can't leave her behind," Piper spoke up, rising from her previous crouch, "If she wakes up and can't find us... Or has amnesia... What if she wanders off? What if a monster finds her?"

"We can't bring her, either. It'll be too dangerous for us all if we have to care for her and protect her during the battle. There's no-one to spare, and quite honestly we can't really spare her either. She could get hurt, or we could. We have to... Leave her." Percy said grimly, shooting an apolegetic glance at his friends.

"Yeah, I guess... Where can we leave her though? The fire..." Frank muttered.

Suddenly, a tent made out of smooth, cold rock grew from the pathway.

"I guess here? Pluto must be on our side for this..." said Percy. He took Hazel from Frank, and laid her down in the enclosure, placing his jacket under her head for support. It was too hot for that anyways..

The rock slid back into the ground, leaving a hole the size of a CD.

"NO!" Frank screamed.

"Frank, calm down. The hole is for breathing, and it will be safer and cooler in the ground. Plus, that solves the issue of her wandering, right? The gods are helping us very effectively here..." Percy reassured.

"How do we know it's not a trap? Or.. What if we just killed her?! Oh gods Perce..."

"Frank, Percy's right. Also, we need to hurry! The sooner we open the Doors, the sooner Hazel comes out of the ground and gets medical help." Piper said, and Frank nodded.

So, they continued onwards.

**OH MY GLOB! I am so beyond sorry for the multiple PoVs, but they were necessary to make this longer. Gods, who's seen Rick's tour dates? They're on his blog and I am sooo sad! The nearest place he's going is 14 hours away from me, BY CAR! I can't go :( Aw well, you peoples don't care about that, do you? Haha don't forget to review! **

**DAD: Hello there! I know who you are :) I'll respond via PM, since that'd be too long here. Thanks for reviewing!**


	31. XXX Leo

**This is late. I'm so so so sorry everyone! :( I had homework and an orthodontist appointment yesterday. **

**Disclaimer: OH ME GOODNESS LESS THAN 11 DAYS I AM FREAKING OUT! Too bad I own nothing... **

**XXX**

**Leo**

As he willed his toolbelt to produce a decent sized hammer, Leo decided not to tell Chiron about the centaur Jason had just killed. He was sure his teacher would understand, but just in case it happened to be one of his relatives...

A hellhound lunged at him hungrily, and Leo threw the hammer at the monsters head. It swirled in midair, and things seemed to go into slow-motion. The monster was barreling towards him, the hammer spiraling back, and...

_WHAM_

The hammer emerged itself into the hellhound's eye, and the monster crumpled to dust. Leo retrieved his hammer, just as another hellhound launched itself his way, followed by a few of his karpoi buddies. Luckily, Will was there and could shoot multiple monsters at once. Leo wouldn't have been able to kill them all on his own. After they were all diminished and not threatening to come back anytime soon, Leo disengaged himself from the fight and slid behind a large boulder. He felt bad about leaving his friends to fend for themselves for the time being, but he desperately needed a stronger weapon than a hammer. He began pulling the supplies for a hand-gun out of his belt.

Five minutes, it took him to build the weapon. An additional three were spent making an array of celestial bronze bullets. Eight minutes wasted, but it was worth it. Leo examined his work for a moment, the sleek black edges of the gun, and the tiny bronze bullets in place. Then, he leapt out from behind the rock.

He'd half expected something to be horribly wrong, they were demigods, afterall. Yet, everything was exactly how he'd left it. Jason was darting around in the air, slashing the heads off of any monster that came in reach. Will was standing at a distance, on top of another large boulder, shooting down the enemy. Annabeth was right in the middle of the fight, locked in hand-to-hand combat with about ten karpoi, two centaurs, and one cyclopes, but still holding her own.

_BAM!_ Came the first shot from his gun, and down went the Cyclopes that had been trying to sneak up behind Jason. Two more shots, and one of the centaurs and the Cyclopes that Annabeth had been up against, went down in a pile of dust. Will shot a volley of arrows at a clan of oncoming empousai. Nearly all of them went down in piles of dust, but the others continues advancing towards Leo. Just then, Jason swept out of the sky and struck them with his _glaius_.

Annabeth kept killing the karpoi a few at a time, but Leo noticed that they just kept coming. They would need something stronger... Something that could kill all the monsters at once, but not them. Where were the others?

His question was answered a minute later when Percy, Piper, and Frank ran into sight, behind the monsters. Vaguelly, Leo wondered where Hazel was, he hoped she was okay...

However, then his friends charged. Percy went straight for the monsters that were attacking Annabeth and began slashing them with his wicked sharp blade. Frank morphed into an elephant and began tromping on anything that attempted to get to Will. Piper hesitated, but then backed up and hid behind a bush, out of sight. Leo figured that she would be waiting for the golden chance to close the Doors of Death, without the monsters distracting or attacking her.

Leo kept shooting the enemy with his gun, as he worked on formulating a plan. The problem was, he just couldn't think of anything that could explode the monsters, and _not_ get them killed in the process...

Then it hit him, Annabeth was supposed to have the knowledge to defeat Gaia and anything else that would come in their way... Perhaps she could figure it out. Now, the only problem was, how to get to her? She was nearly two hundred feet away, and in a fight for her life as much as he was. She wouldn't hear him over the clang of their weapons, or the battle cries of the monster army, and even if she could, he couldn't very well shout out the plan for all the creatures to hear.

He made a decision.

As he headed into the thick of the fight, shooting down hellhounds, karpoi, empousai, dracanae, and other various monsters on the way, he made sure to keep an eye on his target, Annabeth.

And that's when the dragon swooped in, nearly crushing him.

**Linebreak**

"Dragon?! Seriously, the universe hates us." Jason yelled in outrage, somewhere near Leo's left ear.

Leo himself, was too busy marvelling at the beast. It was pretty incredible, even if it wasn't metal, nor was it nearly as brilliant as Festus. The monster before him was a pure, purple color, with an arrow-tip shaped head. The dragon was only medium sized, about the size Peleus had been when Leo had left Camp. The tail swished toward him, and it was a good thing Jason was there, or he would've been swept into a boulder, and crushed. His friend pulled him into the air, and Leo figured it wouldn't hurt to ask for a ride over to where Annabeth and Percy were fighting. It would speed up his process, anyways.

"Hey Sparky! Mind dropping me next to Braniac over there? I got a plan."

Jason looked at him skeptically, then nodded, "Sure thing, Flameo."

And they were off, Jason flying him into the center of the war.

**I give you all permission to kill me for this one, it's wayy too short, and I will honestly be shocked if it scraped 800 words. Besides that, though, did you like it? What do you think Annabeth will do? :) ~La**


	32. XXXI Hazel, Leo

**WHOS READY FOR MARK OF ATHENA?! *Raises hand and jumps up and down excitedly* I even made a Camp shirt... Greek of course ;) Sorry for no post on Monday, this is the second to last chapter peoples! ENJOY! And check out my poll, its vital to my writing.  
Disclaimer: I no own nothing.**

**XXXI**

**Hazel**

She was having the worst nightmare of her life, and that was saying something. She must have been a lucid dreamer, because she could still feel the pain in her head, but could tell she was dreaming, even though it was so realistic, and in color too.

She was watching her friends fighting for their lives, when a ginormous dragon swooped in and nearly crushed Leo. She saw Jason swoop in and save him, then deposit him near where Annabeth and Percy were battling a stream of baddies. Leo leaned in and talked to Annabeth, while shooting monsters with a handgun. Hazel didn't even want to know how that was working, considering monsters couldn't normally be killed with mortal weapons. All she knew, was that Leo was seriously lacking common sense if he thought it would be a good idea to talk to his allies during battle. It was probably distracting Annabeth more than was safe, and they were outnumbered enough as it was. Hazel felt like telling him to get his priorities straight, and socialize later. Even more, she wanted to wake up and help them! Vaguelly, she wondered why she was asleep anyways, and where the pain in her head came from. She didn't remember much about it, only the sensation of falling hard to the ground. Before that, everything was blurry. She wondered if a monster had gotten to her, because she knew she wasn't dead. No, she knew what it felt like, to be dead.

This was worse, this was pain and torture, and what made it worse is what her dream showed her next.

Frank.

He'd been protecting Will, crushing monsters like you wouldn't believe, in the form of an elephant. Then, the dragon that had nearly landed on Leo flew at him, and bit into his side. Frank trumpeted in pain, shrinking back into a human, involuntarily. Hazel only got a glimpse of his wound, but that was enough. For a moment she saw the huge tear in the side of his ribcage, the blood pouring out, and his skin turning ashen rapidly. Then, he sank into the sea of battling monsters, and was lost from her view. If she could have cried out to him, she would have, because deep down she knew, Frank Zhang was gone. There was no way he could have survived the wound, and all the monsters that had been surrounding Will's boulder would have trampled him anyways.

Hazel was utterly helpless, Frank was surely dead or about to die, and that meant Hazel had just lost the one person she loved most in the world.

A voice spoke in her mind, rasping and gravelly, _That's right, girl. Your beloved is past, and there's no way you can stop it. Be glad I gave you this, a vision of how he died. Or would you rather me leave you with your other friends' pathetic descriptions? Perhaps it would have been better if I had even let the boy live? You see Hazel, Frank was of no use to me, so I had him killed. You can do nothing for me either, yet I let you live. Why? Because I know you will suffer more, this way. Death would be to simple, you'd simply acheive Elysium and be with that Zhang boy again. In my territory? I have the ability to control you forever more. _

Hazel felt her eyes stinging with tears that were filled with both anger and despair. It hadn't been a dream, the voice had killed Frank. _Gaia_ had killed Frank. He was really gone.

**Leo**

Jason swooped down and set him right where Annabeth had just disintegrated a karpoi, then soared off. Leo shot at a dracaena that had been charging Percy from behind, and after the snake-woman burst into dust, he spun around and began talking rapid-fire style to Annabeth.

"AnnabethIhaveaplanbutIneedyo urhelpyou'retheonlyonethatwouldhavethe knowledgetohelp!" he exclaimed quietly, all in one breath.

Annabeth sliced through an empousa, and then leaned closer to him, "Alright, what's the plan? Make it fast, Valdez. It's hard to fight when you're carrying a conversation, and I believe it would be best if we all tried to stay alive."

"Will do, I need something that will kill all the monsters, but not us, right? Well, I was thinking of a bomb, but I can't think of anything that would only affect monsters. Can you use your Mark thingy to come up with something?"

"You act like I haven't been trying! You're right though, I hadn't thought of a bomb. Let me think for a moment..." Her words trailed off, and even if she was still fighting brilliantly, he could practically see the gears in her mind turning. Leo shot at a few more monsters, but the closer ones he used his hammer for. He was beginning to run out of bullets.

A few seconds later, Annabeth's head jerked towards him, and he saw that her eyes were lit up with either a mad or a brilliant idea. "Carbon monoxide." She said simply.

"What?! But isn't that like, fatally poisonous to humans?"

"Yes, but demigods have a stronger resistance to poison. Carbon monoxide is fatal to monsters, even in the lowest of doses. Fill a bomb with it? They die, we live with minor brain injuries. Nothing nectar and ambrosia can't fix."

Leo hesitated, then shrugged his shoulders. He figured, she was the genius, and he'd better trust her. He reached into his tool-belt, and thought about the deadly gas, contained inside a small canister. Hopefully, the belt could produce it, even if you didn't generally find that laying around anywhere, much less a tool shop. He was in luck; the belt must have been feeling nice, because a small container of nothingness apparated into his hand. Immediatley, Leo pulled more tools from his belt, and started to form the shell for the bomb. From across the battle-field he heard Frank trumpet in pain, but he was so immersed in his work that Leo hardly registered the noise.

Too long, it took to form the shell and arm the missle. Leo set the timer and threw the weapon into the mass of monsters. Annabeth was telling Percy to cover his mouth, and start retreating. Jason was fighting the massive dragon, and when he looked up, Leo waved him over. He saw his friend hesitate, but eventually give in, and he soared near.

"Cover your mouth!" Leo told him hurriedly, "I built a bomb, and we won't be able to tell if it works or not, but if you don't want possible brain damage... Er, more of it, that is, then hold your breath and fly over to where Beauty Queen hid. If you can, take Will and Frank. Tell Zhang to become a mouse, to make it easier."

"Alright then... But Leo, you should know, Frank... He's gone, he got wounded, and fell, then sank into the ground. I tried to help, I really did, but I didn't make it on time." Jason's voice was thick with despair, and Leo knew that if he was any less tough, the son of Jupiter would be crying. Leo? His heart sunk, and it was all he could do to stay on track.

"Go, hurry! Frank might not be dead yet, and we have to get out of here." He said.

Jason sped off, leaving Leo to turn and pull Annabeth and Percy to safety... Or as safe as it got just then.

And they got to the boulder where Piper had been hidden, just in time to see her close the Doors of Death.

**Sorry this is late again, I'll post once more on Monday, and the Epilogue on Thursday! :D MOA MOA MOA MOA!**


	33. XXXII Frank, Percy, Annabeth, Piper

**A few more hours till Mark of Athena! I can't wait. And no spoilers, please! Yes, I know that there are the first 5 chapters on Tumblr, no, I am not going to read them! :P Enjoy peoples! Epilogue will be posted on Thursday... Probably :3 **

**Disclaimer: Dear Uncle Rick, will you please sell me the rights to PJatO and HoO so that I can do a better job with them than Disney has? No? Poop. Alright.**

**XXXII**

**Frank**

The bite sliced straight through his thick elephant's hide, and he could feel it puncture some major organs that had probably been keeping him alive. He trumpeted involuntarily out of pain, but instantly regretted it. His friend's couldn't be worrying about him right now, not when they were in a war! He hoped none of them had heard... But his suspicions were confirmed when everyone except Leo and Piper (who were both not in his line of vision anyways) glanced at him, worriedly. He saw Percy try to make his way through the monsters and towards Will's boulder, but Frank knew that was not a good strategy. It would leave his friend's back exposed to enemy forces.

That's why, as he shrunk back to his human form out of pure pain, he managed to shake his head "no" at Percy, and shoot him his best Roman glare. No way was Percy Jackson going to endanger himself to try and save Frank. After all, he was only a son of Mars who's life depended on a stick. Percy was supposed to lead the Romans and Greeks in the battle against Gaia in Greece, with the help of Jason. Percy was supposed to last long enough to help save the world again.

As he fell, Frank pulled his stick out of his pocket. When Hazel had been knocked unconcious, he had pulled it from her hoodie. Now, he just needed it for reassurance that it was still there, still intact. Even if he had no idea where it had gone when he'd transformed...

Too late, did he realise that he was falling into a flaming wall of Greek fire. Percy had explained it to him during one of their nightly sparring sessions, it was a prominent tool that the Greeks used in battle, so powerful it could burn even underwater. Will had been using special arrows that contained the substance in powder form, and ignited with a hard enough impact.

Frank Zhang had been destined to die holding the burning stick, and as a spark of green flame flicked up and caught to the wood, he knew that the Fates were right.

He landed hard on the ground, rolled onto his back, and lay there. The stub of wood was clenched in his left hand, as his clothes caught fire. A disgusting stench of burning flesh reached him, and his whole body felt like it was melting. Then he realised, it actually was.

He was almost relieved, when he blacked out. He was nearly grateful that the stick had been reduced to nothing but ash, sending him to the Underworld. Anything to erase that pain.

**Linebreak**

His soul didn't even meander in Charon's waiting room of the damned. When the blackness cleared, he was facing the two lines of the Underworld, facing the choice between judgement or EZ-Death. As scared as he was of going to the Fields of Punishment, he sort of doubted that would happen, and he didn't want to go to the Fields of Asphodel where he would wander aimlessly for all eternity, either. So he got into the crawling line for the judgement panel.

As he moved up, the line behind him extended. He found himself thinking about all the things he would miss about living:

Hazel, Percy, Annabeth, Piper, Leo, Jason, Reyna, all the legionaires he had become acquainted with over the month he had been there, Hazel, icecream, elephants, archery, Hazel, New Rome, fighting monsters, going on impossible quests, Hazel, hockey, being a Centurion, Hazel, speaking bad French, conjugating Latin proverbs, Hazel, his friends, Hazel. Living. Having a chance to grow up and have a future. Having options. And Hazel, everything about her, from the way her eyes sparkled when she rode Arion, to the way she could gut monsters so easily, to the way she could kiss him and make all his troubles go away.

That's when he decided, if he got the chance to go to Elysium, he wouldn't choose to be reborn. Not until she got there, which he hoped wouldn't be for a while. Perhaps, he could find his mother and grandmother, down here. He missed them so much... It had been too long since they'd been together as a family. But he wouldn't leave until she got there.

He would always wait for her.

**Percy**

First Annabeth told him she was probably going to die anytime, because of a stupid Mark her mother gave her to defeat Gaia. Then, Hazel got hurt and they'd had to leave her behind. Now Frank was almost certaintly dead. Percy couldn't take anymore of this, he couldn't deal with any more death or pain or suffering or quests or war... None of it. All he wanted to do was breakdown and let it all out, kill off every last thing that had hurt someone he cared about. Cry for a change, even if it wasn't at _all_ like him. Yet, he couldn't. The monsters kept coming, so he had to be strong and fight them.

Thank the gods for Leo's bomb, and Piper closing the Doors. As Leo pulled him and Annabeth behind the huge boulder (what was up with those, anyways?) he grabbed Annabeth's hand, never wanting to let go. They rested behind the rock, just as Piper rejoined them and Jason swooped in from rescuing Will. That's when Percy realised, Frank was really gone. That's also when his brain went fuzzy, and he blacked out.

**Annabeth**

Percy passed out (literally) just as they sat down. His head fell on her shoulder, but his hand loosened from hers. She gave him a soft shake, but she almost didn't want to wake him up. He was probably exaughsted, they all were. Also, Percy's fatal flaw was personal loyalty... And Frank... Oh gods Frank, she couldn't believe he was actually dead. Jason was telling the others that there had been no body, it either sunk into the ground, or disappeared. All she knew, was that it meant her new friend was definitely gone. Silent tears were streaming down her face, and she saw that the others weren't taking it well, either. Jason was the only one who's face was completely straight, but Annabeth could see that his eyes were weak. He was masking how he felt, trying to be strong for their sakes, but he was on the verge of breaking, too. She hung her head, muttered a prayer to the gods, and especially to Hades (wow, that was new) asking for Frank to get a good, fair trial, and go to Elysium. He deserved it, after everything he'd been through.

Annabeth went to lift her head, but found she was too tired, her eyes slipped closed, and her vision went black. No dreams, just solid sleep.

**Piper**

First chance she got, she made her way to the Doors of Death. Leo was using scraps to build a bomb, Jason was flying around, doing his best to distract and kill as many monsters as possible, Annabeth and Percy were fighting with dagger and sword, slashing away with incredible skill, Will was shooting down enemies from above, using a wise variety of arrows, (sonic, Greek fire, razor sharp, blinding light) and Frank was trampling anything nearby. No one and/or nothing was looking her way, so she seized the oppritunity to yank the crack in the Doors closed.

She gripped the massive gold handles, and pulled with all her might, slowly closing them. The process was too slow, and a whole bunch of baddies kept trying to fly at the slit. Right before the Doors closed, one ghoul jumped towards her. If that wasn't motivation for her to yank them closed with all her might, she didn't know what was. Right before the creature got to her, she slammed them shut, and didn't even hesitate before running back to her boulder. Thank the gods, Leo's weapon had worked! The enemies were all gone, her friends safe if not tired... Except for Frank. In a quiet voice, Jason explained to her what happened, and Piper caught herself crying. After all they'd been through, this killed him. It just seemed so cruel...

**Hazel**

The voice went away, and Hazel barely noticed herself sinking deeper into the Earth. Until it was too late, that is. She couldn't control anything, it was like the muskeg from Alaska, suffocating with no escape. Her thoughts went fuzzy, she couldn't breathe... Couldn't think... Cou-

She passed out, from lack of oxygen. Thirty-four minutes later, Hazel Levesque descended into the Underworld for the second time. Just in time to see Frank head in for judgement. And so, she joined the long, winding path of the souls of the Damned. At least then, she could be with him.

**Percy**

Nico appeared in his dreams, weary and weak. He looked vunerable.

"Percy, you have to hurry and get back to the ship. Don't go back for Hazel. She- well it's too late for her. She and Frank both got to Elysium, I talked to them briefly. Listen, I have to go. Just stay strong, they both told me to tell you that, they don't want you to beat yourself up for their dying. Just get to Greece, and fast, because more monsters are on the way!"

And the dream ended. Percy shot up,

"Guys, we have to go. Nico just sent me a dream, don't ask how, I don't know. But he said that there are more monsters coming, and... H-Hazel is dead too..."

His voice kind of deflated on that last line. Both his friends dead, in one day, within an hour of eachother. It took a lot of effort to push himself up to a standing position, lift up Annabeth and drape her over his shoulder like a fireman would, and force the others to move on.

But he did,because Hazel and Frank had wanted him to, and he had to respect that.

So, they headed to Greece.

**The End. **

**Enjoy Mark of Athena tomorrow! Im so excited! Thank you so much to the 47 people who stalked this story, the 135 reviews, the 22 favoriters, and the 25,413 views. I love you all so much, and I'll miss your reviews! Don't forget to check out my poll for future stories, I want to know what to write next! I might not do a fourth HoO book fanfic though, it's a lot of work and school is sucky. I'll be back on Thursday for the Epilogue! :) **

**3 La**


	34. Epilogue

**Thanks again for all the faves, reviews, views, stalkers, etc. Special shout-out to: avocran, Shur'tugal Daughter of Artemis, h0a4l2e1y, emily5637, & Dandelions and Daydreams for sticking with me from the start and not giving up on this story :) Now for the epilogue.**

**Disclaimer: If I had written Mark of Athena it would've been 191892493x worse! xD That is to say... I don't own it.**

**Epilogue**

**Percy**

16 years after the war, and it was the anniversary of The Battle of Rome. Percy and Jason were sitting in the living room of their shared apartment, each grieving in their own way. It had been 16 years since they'd lost everyone they cared about, except eachother, and both couldn't seem to get over their losses.

The other five of the seven had all been killed in the War Against Gaia. Frank and Hazel obviously had died in Rome, him taken down by that gigantic dragon, and she being suffocated by Gaia herself.

Annabeth had passed away on the ship, the next night. Somehow, Medusa's sister Euryale had resurrected and snuck aboard the ship. Annabeth had been on night watch, left to battle the monster herself. Their fight had been so quick, Annabeth already being weak from the Mark, and disoreinted from the night. Euryale had gotten in a lucky hit with her razor sharp talons, striking her prey right in the neck. The others were too late to do anything, and could only watch as she died. Percy remembered holding her hand, trying his best not to cry; to be strong one last time for her. It was difficult, even if it had only taken Annabeth one minute and twenty-six seconds to lose all the air from her lungs, her punctured windpipes not supplying anymore. They had burned her in a silvery shroud.

Piper and Leo had each died at the final battle in Greece, but no one actually saw how. All they knew was that Piper's breast-plate had been corroded with acid, and Leo was nothing but a bloody mess. Percy didn't even want to describe how Jason had reacted, all he could saw was that it had been terrifying. Their bodies had been brought back to Camp Halfblood for a mass ceremony. Leo's shroud had been fiery red, with an outline of flames and a hammer, where Piper's had been a soft blue, with a golden dagger on it.

Among them, about fourty Greek and one hundred Roman campers had died in the war. Among them were Clarisse LaRue, Reyna Bell, Travis Stoll, Jake Mason, Dakota Merlot, and countless nymphs and satyrs. Also, dozens of Party Ponies had been killed.

And so, Percy and Jason were sitting in their apartment, mid-July, sixteen years after the war. Reminiscing and mourning old friends, long gone. The remaining campers, whether Roman or Greek, had formed a third camp that was a clash of cultures, but then again, America was a melting pot. Jason and Percy had been offered to regain their status of praetor, but both had forfeited. They'd decided to try living on their own in the real world. They tried to forget and move on.

And maybe in sixteen more years, they would be able to.

**Wow that was morbid, even for me xD Good-bye, my lovelies. I shall see you all again in a few months. For now, I am on hiatus.**


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